


Case Three: Evie Grimhilde

by MelyndaR



Series: Auradon Social Services: Isle of the Lost Division [4]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Snow White - All Media Types, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Isle of the Lost (Disney) is a Terrible Place, United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:01:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 24,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25897855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelyndaR/pseuds/MelyndaR
Summary: “Darling girl,” Mrs. Radcliffe reached for her, only to realize that Evie’s hands were clasped in her lap. “ I know you’re different now, I can tell. You’re nowhere near the tittering little slip of a thing that climbed out of a limo in front of cameras less than a year ago. You’re brilliant and strong and fiercely protective, and that is what people deserve to think of first when they see you, not your past.”“If you believe that,” Evie asked, forcing a calm that she didn’t feel into her tone. “Why do you still look so worried?"
Relationships: Doug/Evie (Disney: Descendants), Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil, Evie (Disney: Descendants) & The Seven Dwarfs
Series: Auradon Social Services: Isle of the Lost Division [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1854097
Comments: 66
Kudos: 195





	1. Chapter 1

The day after Mal, King Adam, and Queen Belle decided to go ahead with the idea of wardship over Mal, Carlos caught up with Evie as she was leaving their classes for the day, saying, “Hey, Evie, I have a favor to ask. Well, Mrs. Radcliffe has a favor to ask of you that I’m asking for her, actually.”

Evie ticked up an eyebrow, asking curiously, “Okay, what’s the favor?”

“You know how you asked me to design a website?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I have the base coding set up, just not the design elements, exactly. And you know how the official wardship signing thing for Mal is tomorrow?”

“Yes…” Evie replied, feeling no less confused than when Carlos had first started talking.

“Mrs. Radcliffe asked if it’s possible for the website to be up and running by the time the signing thing airs on TV, and it is. She’s going to meet me in the library where we can work on it in an hour until… whenever it’s done, I guess, but she asked me to ask you if you could join us?”

“Why me?” Evie asked with a little tilt of her head.

“She wants your input on design elements, too.”

“Really?” That surprised Evie. “She does remember she’s a designer in her own rite, doesn’t she?”

Carlos shrugged. “Yeah, of course, but I get the feeling that being from New London, she’s not _really_ as used to the idea of web design as she wants _me_ to think she is. She’s a fashion designer first If that makes sense.”

“It makes perfect sense,” she assured him before asking, “You’re meeting in the library in an hour you said?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright.” She grinned at him. “I’ll be there.”

* * *

It was well past eleven p.m., and Fairy Godmother’s curfew for students when Evie, Carlos, and Mrs. Radcliffe were done putting the finishing touches on the website. Even so, Carlos ran the mouse cursor over the phone number provided on the website – Mrs. Radcliffe’s personal number – as he asked, “Ben is going to assign you an office in the palace for the ILD, isn’t he?”

“Starting next week, yes,” Mrs. Radcliffe confirmed.

“With its own extension on the phoneline?”

“To my understanding, yes. But I don’t know if I want to put that number on the site yet because I’ll miss calls that happen before I’m able to move my workspace into the office.”

“Actually, I was thinking that there are apps that I could put on your phone that would direct the number to your cell as well as ringing the phone in your office. So, we could put that number here now, and you would still get all the calls forwarded to your cellphone.”

“That sounds marvelous,” Mrs. Radcliffe said.

“I could download it to your phone while I walk you to your car, if you want,” Carlos said, trying to make it sound like a casual offer, but Evie heard the thread of nerves in her oldest friend’s voice.

If Mrs. Radcliffe heard the same thing, she didn’t comment on it, only smiled at him as he picked up his laptop. “That’s kind of you, if you’re sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.” Carlos waved her and Evie ahead of him as they left the library.

Evie turned to him before they parted ways in the hall, commenting, “I’ll see you tomorrow at the… what did you call it?”

“The wardship signing thing?” Carlos asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah, that.” She quickly hugged him, adding, “Don’t forget to bring your chatty side.”

“Why?” he asked suspiciously.

“Because the cameras will be there, for a purpose, of course, and we want to get the message out about the ILD, right?”

“On live television?” Carlos repeated slowly.

“Oh,” Mrs. Radcliffe put her arm around Carlos’ shoulders as Evie removed hers. “You can do it! Don’t forget that we’ll all be there to bail each other out if needed.”

“Exactly,” Evie replied confidently, giving the duo a parting wave as she turned towards the wing housing her dorm room.

She was happy for Mal, despite her own disagreements with King Adam the previous day, and she was excited for the ILD, and she couldn’t wait to see what the next afternoon would bring.

* * *

As it turned out, the next afternoon – though mostly being the half-poignant, half-pointed event that Evie had completely expected it to be – brought a couple calls for Mrs. Radcliffe, thanks to the app Carlos had downloaded, before the press had even wandered away from the gathering.

Mrs. Radcliffe had to turn the call volume up to hear over the crowd, and from beside her, it wasn’t really Evie’s _fault_ , she decided, if she overheard most of the first conversation.

 _“Is this the Isle of the Lost Division of social services?”_ a gentle, masculine voice asked.

“Yes. Anita Radcliffe here. To whom am I speaking?”

_“My name is David Baker. I’m watching the news piece on Lady Mal’s guardianship signing, and Jay Jafar mentioned you’re doing genetic testing on Isle children.”_

“We’re working towards that, yes.”

_“Do you know… does Anastasia Baker have a child? They would be a young adult by now.”_

Mrs. Radcliffe looked decidedly torn as to how to proceed with the conversation, but finally she said gently, “It is my understanding that Anastasia has more than one child.”

 _“Are they twins?”_ he asked immediately, and, standing between Evie and Mrs. Radcliffe, more clearly listening in, Carlos shook his head when Mrs. Radcliffe looked at him for an answer.

“No,” Mrs. Radcliffe relayed cautiously. “They’re not.”

The line went quiet for a long few seconds, and then he said something, polite and quiet, that Evie didn’t catch before he hung up.

“That felt cruel,” Mrs. Radcliffe muttered, rolling her eyes skyward.

“He asked,” Carlos pointed out comfortingly. “What were you supposed to do, lie?”

Mrs. Radcliffe pulled him close with a sad smile. “I know. You’re right, of course.”

“Would it help,” Evie offered, shoving aside her hesitation. “If I called him back and explained _why_ Anastasia has children? It’s not what he thinks it is, I’m sure.”

Mrs. Radcliffe shook her head. “Not now. Maybe another day, but today, go enjoy your friend’s celebration.” Her phone began to ring again, so she shooed Carlos away, too, ordering kindly, “Both of you, go enjoy this.” Carlos looped arms with Evie, and as they wandered away, Mrs. Radcliffe said into the phone, “Anita Radcliffe, ILD. To whom am I speaking?”

Once the party finally wound down, Mrs. Radcliffe approached Evie, Mal, and Ben, and asked hesitantly, “Your majesty?”

Ben turned to her, his expression open and happy. “Yes?”

“Do you think, if it’s possible, if it’s not too much trouble, that I might move into my office space earlier than Monday? I’ve received two phone calls already, and with advertising the ILD’s phone number with the news piece just now, I’m hopeful I might actually need the workspace sooner than Monday.”

Ben smiled thoughtfully. “Well, there’s still going to be cleaning crews in there up until Sunday afternoon, but if you’re willing to work around them, I’m willing to let you.”

Mrs. Radcliffe clasped her hands together, enthusing, “That sounds perfect! Thank you.”

Ben’s smile turned kind as he replied, “Of course. And thank _you_ for being so flexible in starting this and working so hard with us.”

Mrs. Radcliffe nodded in acknowledgement, not sure what else to say as a pretty blush colored her cheeks. “Speaking of working hard, I believe I’ll get started in my office first thing tomorrow morning. Evie,” Mrs. Radcliffe suddenly turned to her. “If you wouldn’t mind joining me there after your school day has ended, I thought I might let you phone that man you asked about.”

Evie put on a brave smile, already hoping that Mal and Ben didn’t try and question her about that “man” as she agreed, “I’ll be there.”

_She would do anything she could to get every possible child off the Isle, after all._


	2. Chapter 2

The next evening, when Evie walked into the official office of the ILD, she was greeted with a surprisingly deflated Anita Radcliffe. “Hi,” she said carefully, putting her backpack in one of the chairs as she asked Mrs. Radcliffe in a purposefully neutral tone, “How are you today?”

Mrs. Radcliffe looked up from her computer. “Hello, Miss Grimhilde. I’m well, thank you. And you?”

“I’m fine,” Evie assured her. “But you look a little…” she trailed off, not sure what the right word was.

“Discouraged?” Mrs. Radcliffe supplied. “I suppose I am. I called the genetic scientists, and they agreed to start collecting DNA samples from the VKs tomorrow.”

“But that’s great!” Evie said enthusiastically, her smile growing wider.

“It is,” Mrs. Radcliffe agreed. “But I may have overestimated my immediate need for the office space. The call to the labs was one I could’ve made at home, and other than that call, nothing else has happened today. No one else has tried to make contact with me regarding the information we spread yesterday. Instead, I’ve spent my afternoon here familiarizing myself with the profiles of the villains and their children that are on record here at the castle, which I also could’ve done from home.”

“But now at least we have an official space to conduct ILD business in, and that’s a good thing,” Evie offered. “And it looks really nice in here.”

That wasn’t quite a lie. The room was plain, with nothing but a desk and three chairs in it, but it was a room in the castle, so it _did_ look nice.

Still, Mrs. Radcliffe raised her eyebrows, remarking, “It’ll look better once housekeeping removes the painters’ tarp from the floor” – this while she waved at the ugly white canvas tarp covering the front half of the floorspace.

“That’s true,” Evie allowed with a smile. Sitting down across from Mrs. Radcliffe, she asked, “Does that mean you haven’t called Mr. Baker back yet?”

“I have not,” Mrs. Radcliffe’s eyebrows drew together as she explained, “I was under the impression that was something you wanted to do personally, and I do think your thoughts would be better explained coming from you, someone who’s close to the matter, don’t you?”

Evie nodded, slow and hesitant, even as she admitted, “You’re right.”

“If you’re still willing to call him,” Mrs. Radcliffe picked up the cordless phone sitting in its charging port on her desk and offered it to Evie. “His number is the second to most recent.”

Sitting up straight and drawing in what she hoped was a bracing breath in the face of what she was afraid was going to become a little too personal a conversation, Evie took the phone and looked up David Baker’s number, calling it before she had a chance to lose her nerve.

“Hello?” asked the man on the other end of the phone. “David Baker of Cozy Hearth Bakery.”

“Mr. Baker?” Evie asked, hoping her tone sounded professional and didn’t bely the nerves knotting up her stomach. “My name is Evie Grimhilde. I’m calling from the ILD about a call that you made to us yesterday?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then, guardedly, but not impolite, “What about it?”

“I just got the feeling that the conversation with Mrs. Radcliffe went a little… unfinished, like we gave you more questions than we did answers, and I thought maybe I could offer you… an insider’s opinion on the information Mrs. Radcliffe shared with you yesterday.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean. I…” he sighed. “I don’t use a lot of flowery words. Honestly, I’m not much for talking at all. I just—I want to know if my wife is alright; you have to understand, the last time I saw her, she had been battling the flu for almost two weeks, and I know it’s stupid, but I just keep hoping that she got over it. But I don’t have any way to find out even that.”

“Mr. Baker,” Evie said as gently as she knew how, picking at a spot of paint that someone had dripped onto the desk during the office’s remodel. “I don’t think you would’ve called yesterday as quickly as you did, with the question that you asked, if you really thought she had the flu. Would you’ve?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, even more guarded now.

“I think, given how you’ve behaved towards the ILD so far,” Evie said slowly. “That you think that your wife was pregnant when she was sentenced to the Isle.”

There was a pause, then, painfully, “Well, was she?”

Evie paused, swallowing a sigh before she admitted, “Unfortunately, I can’t give you an answer to that question yet. That’s why we’re planning to do the DNA testing in the upcoming weeks, to determine some things in situations exactly like yours – in fact, _including_ in your situation.”

“So…” There was a thread of frustration running through Mr. Baker’s tone that he quickly did his best to squash as he asked, “You called me to tell me that you… have nothing useful to tell me?”

Evie winced. “No. Actually, I called you because… I didn’t want you to misunderstand the rest of what Mrs. Radcliffe told you – that Anastasia has… well, had kids with other men.” There was a breath of air from the other side of the phone, like Mr. Baker had gotten the wind knocked out of him at her bluntness, but she charged ahead. “Please, understand that as well as someone can cling to a sense of right and wrong and a moral compass on the Isle, Anastasia’s done that. She’s broken ties with Lady Tremaine and Drizella, almost before I was born, according to her niece. She has a semi-successful tailoring business that allows her to buy and sell and trade like a civilized person instead of stealing things. She’s still _trying_ to be a good person.”

Evie hesitated before continuing softly, because _this_ was what she needed him to understand more than anything else. “But she’s also still on the Isle, and on the Isle… certain things are a necessity. Anastasia doesn’t make enough money to buy herself food, cloth, _and_ protection from thieves and blackmailers and back alley horrors, so… she’s reverted, a very little bit, back to what Lady Tremaine taught her. She…” the words felt impossibly heavy on her tongue, and now – _now_ – Evie began to wonder if she should even be saying these things at all.

“It’s okay,” the man on the other end of the phone offered so quietly Evie almost didn’t catch it. “This is the most I’ve heard of my wife in over twenty years; I want to know. Please.”

Evie swallowed once, twice, roughly, before clearing her throat. She kept picking at the paint chip, hating the fact that even just Mrs. Radcliffe could overhear this as she continued, “She trades sex for an alliance with a powerful man, whose very name keeps people away from her and her kids. But you must understand that’s all it is to her – a necessary alliance to make her quality of life on the Isle bearable, to give her children the protection she, as a good mother, wants them to have.”

“I understand,” Mr. Baker said softly. Then he asked, “What can you tell me about them? About Anastasia and her children?”

Evie shrugged, tension still in every inch of her shoulders as she said, “She has five kids, and her niece, Dizzy, says that she calls them ‘the world’s best surprises.’ Let me see if I can get them straight: Anthony, Andrea, Albert, Alexander, Amelie.” She didn’t add that she thought only two of them were full-blooded siblings. “They all live together above Anastasia’s tailoring shop, and all five kids go to Dragon Hall, the school. If the smells coming from their apartment are anything to go by, Anastasia’s taught them all how to bake. Anthony is a marvelous fashion designer, actually, and he does all of his own sewing.”

Evie wasn’t sure how long she kept talking, telling him everything she could possibly remember about Anastasia’s large brood, she just knew that she didn’t stop until he was chuckling through his tears. Before she hung up, though, she offered, “If you still want to have your DNA compared with the VKs, you can leave a sample of your DNA at the ILD office, and I’ll make sure that it’s transferred to the genetics lab for testing.”

“I’ll do that, yes,” he replied immediately. “And, miss? Thank you, very much, for calling.”

“You’re very welcome,” Evie answered warmly, meaning every word.


	3. Chapter 3

“You handled that very well,” Mrs. Radcliffe said gently as Evie put the phone back in its charger. “That couldn’t have been easy.”

“Thank you,” Evie murmured.

“Do you mind,” Mrs. Radcliffe glanced at her computer screen, then back at Evie. “If I ask why you so strongly felt the need to make sure he understood Ms. Tremaine’s motives?”

Evie very purposefully did not wince. “Her name is Mrs. Baker,” she said in the same soft, careful tone she’d used to address King Ben only days ago.

“Of course,” Mrs. Radcliffe cringed now. “I’m sorry. Mrs. Baker.”

And then she waited for Evie to answer her question. Evie tucked her hands into her lap, making herself quit messing with the paint fleck as she met Mrs. Radcliffe’s gaze and said what she was pretty sure the other woman had already guessed at. “Because I understand why Mrs. Baker’s doing what she’s doing. I _get_ being taught by your mom that… there’s a certain way for a woman to be, and that it’s the best way for a woman to get anywhere in life. And I know better now, I do, but I remember what it’s like to feel so… so powerless and confused that you think ‘Mother must be right,’ and then you go out and you do what you feel you have to. You seduce a man, and he gives you safety, or status, or even something as simple as _food_ if that’s what he’s got that you need in the moment. I’ve been there, I’ve done that, and I know what it is to… have people call you terrible things behind your back and to your face because you’ve done what you felt you had to to survive. I just… I wanted to make _absolutely_ sure that Mr. Baker understood that Anastasia’s none of those things. She’s not a slut, she’s not a whore, she’s just a good mom trying to do what she feels she has to to survive, to do what’s best for herself and her children.”

Evie froze, realizing how much she’d just said without saying it. She watched Mrs. Radcliffe’s face fall, then pinch into an expression that was caught between unpleasantness and uncertainty. “I see,” she said quietly.

“Please,” Evie begged quietly, suddenly afraid now. “You can’t tell anyone I said those things, that I did those things. Please, I’m different now, I—”

“Darling girl,” Mrs. Radcliffe reached for her, only to realize that Evie’s hands were clasped in her lap. “I would never do that. I certainly won’t hold your previous survival tactics against you. Believe me, I know you’re different now, I can tell. You’re nowhere near the tittering little slip of a thing that climbed out of a limo in front of cameras less than a year ago. You’re brilliant and strong and fiercely protective, and _that_ is what people deserve to think of first when they see you, not your past.”

“If you believe that,” Evie asked, forcing a calm that she didn’t feel into her tone. “Why do you still look so worried?”

“A couple reasons,” Mrs. Radcliffe said with a small smile. “One: there’s a crying girl in front of me that I don’t know how to help.”

Evie shook her head fiercely, blinking away the panic clouding her eyes as she checked, “You mean it? You won’t talk about what I said?”

“No, never. Not unless you ask me to.”

“Then I’ll be fine.” She swallowed and asked, “What’s the other reason?”

“I won’t claim to have a great deal of understanding regarding psychology, but, given what you’ve just told me, I do have to tell you that there’s another reason I asked you here today. The second call I received yesterday was a final answer from a home that I had looked into for you. They told me they were willing to take you… but now I need you to be honest with me if you think it’s a bad idea for you in any way, alright?”

Evie’s eyebrows drew together in confusion as she asked, “Who is it?”

“Well, it’s an extended family, really, from Charmington. Officially, you’d be in the family of a man named Doc Klein, because he’s the one who has a spare bedroom in their apartment building. Unofficially, the whole of the extended family is more than willing to welcome you as one of their own now that they know they can through wardship if that’s the desired end. If it makes you uncomfortable to sleep alone in the same apartment as a single man, tho—”

“Doug’s family!” Evie blurted out, shock overcoming any of her remaining reservations.

“Doug’s uncles, for the most part, yes,” Mrs. Radcliffe agreed.

“But wouldn’t that make my boyfriend my cousin?!”

“Not if we go the route of wardship, like Mal and the Florians chose, and that’s an option that the Kleins are willing to take if you want. That being said…” she consulted something on her computer screen. “There are six women and… eighteen men living in this apartment building. Are you alright with that?”

“Sure,” Evie shrugged away her concerns. “It worries me more that this is now probably how I’m going to be meeting Doug’s family.”

“Well, Charmington is just the next state over, and it is the weekend,” Mrs. Radcliffe pointed out, shocking Evie when she offered, “We could make a weekend getaway of it, let you see your option and form an opinion, like my family did for Carlos, before you’re asked to make a decision.”

“You would do that?” Evie asked in surprise.

Mrs. Radcliffe nodded. “I’m here to make sure you’re comfortable in the families you choose, remember? However, if you don’t want me to go with you… maybe you could make the ride home with Doug Klein, if he happens to be returning to Charmington weekend?”

“He is!” Evie remembered, almost jumping up out of her chair at the thought as she checked the time on her phone. “But I’d have to catch him quickly, if he hasn’t already left.”

“Then go,” Mrs. Radcliffe waved her away with a kind smile. “And have a good time and give me an answer when you get back.”

“I will,” Evie promised, snatching up her bag and hurrying from the room. “And thank you again!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After I posted the first couple of chapters, I went back and basically rewrote this story, adding a couple subplots that I'd been debating adding to this series. I still hate a couple of the scenes in this story - and this is one of them - but I hope you guys at least like it more than I do!

Evie called Doug as she hurried through the halls towards her dorm room. “Hi. I know this is a sudden and weird question, but if you’re still going to Charmington this weekend, and you haven’t left yet, can I go with you?”

“Um… sure, but in the interest of full disclosure, Derek is going to be riding with me,” Doug replied uncertainly.

“Your big brother?” Evie recalled.

“My _older_ brother,” Doug corrected good-naturedly.

“Right,” Evie said distractedly. _Because Derek, the only member of Doug’s family that Evie had met before, was a dwarf._

“Are you alright?” Doug asked. “You sound a little… all over the place.”

“I don’t want to hold up your trip, so is it okay if I explain on the way?”

“You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yes,” Evie said, knowing she still sounded like she was in a hurry. “I promise.”

“Okay. Call me when you’re ready to go, and I’ll help you carry your bags to my car?”

“Thanks. You’re the best!”

She heard Doug’s smile even over the phone as he quipped, “I try.”

They hung up, and in relatively short order – given how much Evie packed, and she packed _everything_ she even _might_ need to make a good impression – Doug was helping her out of Auradon Prep with her bags.

“Hello, pretty lady I didn’t know was joining us,” Derek said in surprise as Doug began to load her suitcases into the trunk of his car.

Evie gave him a little wave. “Hi, Derek.”

It wasn’t that she disliked Doug’s brother, they just didn’t run in the same social circles in school and had never really exchanged more than pleasantries. That was when it hit her that in order for her staying with the Klein family to work, she was going to have to get to know… _how many had Mrs. Radcliffe said?_ – twenty-three or twenty-four people.

Before she could begin to dwell on that thought along with all the other things running through her mind, Doug opened the passenger-side door for her – always treating her like a princess – and they were off within a minute.

As Doug drove away from the school, Evie asked Derek, “Aren’t you a senior this year? Don’t you have, like, _actual_ finals to study for?”

“Yes, I do,” Derek replied dryly from the backseat. “But they will wait until next week when I get back, so, for now, I feel like I need the… de-stressing of going home for the weekend more than I need one more study session. You know?”

Evie nodded, commenting, “That makes perfect sense.”

Then they lapsed into silence until Doug hit the highway and asked her curiously, “So, what brings _you_ to Charmington this weekend?”

 _How exactly was she supposed to tell him this if he didn’t already know?!_ Evie wondered, looking at him with wide, worried eyes.

“A dress fitting?” Derek guessed from the backseat, not seeing the worry in her eyes that Doug suddenly did.

“Evie?” he asked, careful and quiet. “What’s the matter?”

“Your uncles,” she murmured, afraid that he wouldn’t like the idea even though she was already on the road with them, headed to his home. “They offered to take me in through the ILD, and Mrs. Radcliffe suggested that I go stay with your family for a weekend before I make my decision.”

“Oh,” Doug said, sounding surprised, but not displeased before he asked cautiously, “They’ll only be looking for wardship, I assume? No offense, but… I hope.”

Evie nodded.

“Well,” Doug was clearly working through his own thoughts on the matter even as he spoke them aloud. “I certainly have no objection to it, but you have to understand, my family is loud, and nosy, and there’s a lot of us, and if any of that isn’t your cup of tea, then it’s going to be an adjustment for you to come live with us. On the other hand,” he flashed her a smile, taking her hand in one of his before he turned his gaze back to the road. “I would be thrilled to have my girlfriend living under the same roof as me.”

Evie let herself relax and grin as she said, “Good.”

“Good,” Doug agreed, squeezing her hand gently. He could tell she still wasn’t really okay, that she was still reeling for some reason, but he wasn’t going to ask her about it with Derek in the car, Evie knew that much. What he did ask was, “Where will you stay in our building? Do you know?”

“With Doc, Mrs. Radcliffe said.”

“He is the one with the spare room,” Derek piped up from the back, having clearly heard everything despite Evie’s original attempt to keep the conversation between herself and Doug. “No wife, no kids, just his work.”

Evie was about to ask for clarification – were all five of their other uncles married with kids? – when she suddenly realized: “I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving! I have to call Fairy Godmother! I’m going to be in so much trouble for leaving without permission!”

“Hey, no, you won’t,” Doug said evenly. “Just call and tell her what you told me. Tell her you didn’t want us to leave late, and calling just slipped your mind, with everything else going on. She’ll understand, especially if Mrs. Radcliffe recommended the trip for official purposes.”

 _No, she won’t understand,_ Evie’s mind insisted as she looked up Fairy Godmother’s number in her phone with slightly shaky hands.

 _Why was she screwing everything up today? She’d divulged all of Anastasia’s secrets to the woman’s_ husband _, then she’d divulged all her own secrets to Mrs. Radcliffe, and if Mrs. Radcliffe figured out that_ he _existed, she—_

“Evie, what can I do for you?” Fairy Godmother’s voice over the phone cut off Evie’s spiraling inner monologue.

So, Evie explained, and Doug was right, Fairy Godmother wasn’t upset, but it didn’t make Evie feel any better, because she’d still screwed up. _She’d screwed up Anastasia, Mrs. Radcliffe, herself, Fairy Godmother, maybe even_ – “I didn’t even tell Mal, Carlos, _or_ Jay anything!” she gasped, feeling tears prick at her eyes because _honestly, this wasn’t like her to be this dumb, or this much of a wreck, to just say all of the wrong things and none of the right things, and—_


	5. Chapter 5

The trembling in Evie’s hands was worsening as she tried to find Mal’s number in her contacts – but before she could, Doug took the phone from her hands, declaring, “Okay, I’m taking this for a minute.”

He was frowning, and she hadn’t even noticed as he moved to put her phone in the pocket on the driver’s side door of his car. “No,” she stretched half-frantically to grab her phone, but he kept it out of her reach, managing to keep driving in a straight line at the same time as she tried to explain, “I have to let Mal know, and Carlos, and Jay, because this is a big deal, and if I don’t explain to them, and Mal just shows up to an empty dorm room tonight—”

“Mal,” Doug reminded her evenly, taking her hands in one of his once he’d deposited her phone. “Is going to be at Auradon Castle this weekend. No one is going to be in your dorm room.”

“But still,” she said, realizing on some level that her tone was fraught with far more tension than the situation called for. “They’ll realize I’m not there, and I don’t want to worry them, I can’t mess up something e—"

“Evie,” Derek said kindly from the back. “What’s Mal’s number? Do you remember? I can text her from right here, make sure she knows to let Jay and Carlos know, and then you’re covered, right?”

 _That was the first sensible thing anyone in this car had said,_ she decided, _herself included,_ and the offer loosened something painful in her stomach for a second until she realized, _no, she couldn’t remember the number_ , and she began to shake her head.

“No problem,” Doug dug his phone out of his pocket, tossing it back to his brother. “Use my phone to text them. See, all taken care of, hon.”

A couple seconds passed during which Evie tried to close her eyes, take a deep breath, and focus on what Doug had said. _Everything was all taken care of, it was fine._

 _But it wasn’t fine, because she’d still said far more than she’d meant to to Mr. Baker, divulging parts of Anastasia’s life that she had no right to, and then she’d gone and lain her own secrets bare to Mrs. Radcliffe, and if anyone found out, she didn’t even_ want _to know what was going to happen to her status in Auradon. And now, after all of that, she’d let herself get carried away during a moment of excitement, and now she was going to go meet Doug’s_ family _in the middle of_ this _? She was insane! A complete and total—_

“Here, Doug.” Derek passed Doug his phone, but the sound of his voice came to Evie’s ears almost as if she were underwater. “Evie, they know now, okay? Doug’s right, everything’s taken care of.”

“Evie, you have to breathe, sweetheart,” Doug said, beginning to tap a rhythm onto her palm. “I’m on the highway, and there’s no way to pull off right now; if you start to hyperventilate, I don’t know how to help. I need you to breathe, and I need you to count the beat on your hand, okay? Count with me: one—”

“One,” Evie echoed, drawing in a breath so she could speak.

“Two,” they said together.

“Three.”

Doug made her concentrate on the counting, on the sound of his voice until they made it all the way to one hundred, and she could at least breathe. She wasn’t any less worried – _she was always worried about something, and they both knew it, but he loved her anyway, the poor guy, and she adored him for it_ – but she could at least breathe.

“Better?” Doug asked softly.

Evie nodded, embarrassment flooding her as she realized what had just happened, what Derek – a near stranger – had just seen her do. _Could this day_ get _any more humiliating?_ “I’m okay now. Just tired.”

“Then sleep,” Doug suggested, beginning to run the pad of his thumb over her hand. “We still have over an hour left before we get home.”

“Can’t sleep,” she muttered. She was physically worn out, but that didn’t mean that her mind was going to shut off.

“Do you want to stop and get a coffee or something, then?” Derek offered, trying to lighten the mood a little.

In the rearview mirror, Doug shook his head at his brother as Evie smiled softly at the young man who was so clearly trying to be helpful. “I don’t drink coffee; it makes… this worse.”

“Oh,” Derek said.

Then a not-quite-comfortable silence fell between the three of them until Evie told Derek kindly, “It’s okay. I appreciate the offer.” _She appreciated everything he had just done to try and help a woman he didn’t know._

“You know,” Derek began awkwardly. “You’re right; it is okay. Don’t… be embarrassed or anything. I get it.”

Evie met his gaze in the rearview mirror and was shocked to understand what he meant. _The littlest athlete at Auradon Prep had anxiety attacks, too?_ She never would’ve guessed it. Now that they were talking about it, though, she offered a small smile, a quiet “thanks,” and when he replied, “any time,” they lapsed into a far more comfortable silence.

Reassured a little, Evie got the feeling that if the rest of the Klein family were like these two, she was going to end up having a good weekend.

The rest of the trip passed with quiet chit-chat, and Evie was relieved to feel a little more relaxed, and a lot more like herself, by the time Doug parked his car in midtown Charmington.

As Derek got out of the backseat, Evie asked in mild surprise, “This is it?”

Doug nodded, asking, “Is it not what you were expecting?”

“Well, no,” she admitted. For some odd reason, she’d been expecting a smaller cottage in the countryside, not the blandly brown, four-story brick building in front of her. “But this makes more sense than what I was imagining.” They got out of the car, and then she blanched, realizing, “Doug! I didn’t let anyone here know I was coming!”

“I did,” Derek called from where he was getting their bags from the trunk of the car. He brought Doug’s bag around to him, flinging it towards him as he added to Evie, “In fact, here they come now.”


	6. Chapter 6

That was the only warning she got before there was a clatter of feet behind herself and the boys, and a volley of “Doug; Derek!” “Welcome!” “Hi!”

Evie was not particularly proud of the fact that she turned to look at the over-a-dozen descending adults and promptly tried to duck behind Doug. He chuckled quietly, swinging his bag over his shoulder, and grabbing her hand in his. “Everybody,” he said over the chatter. “This is Evie Grimhilde. Evie, this is… everybody. Except, well, it isn’t actually everybody. None of my cousins came back home this weekend; you’ll have to meet them next time. For now, this is,” Doug pointed out people as he named them, and Evie rapidly filed away the information in her mind lest the sheer information dump begin to overwhelm her. “Uncle Bashful, Aunt Betsy, my dad, Dopey, my mom, Mabel, Uncle Grumpy, Aunt Astrid, Uncle Happy, Aunt Hazel, Uncle Sleepy, Aunt Loretta, Uncle Sneezy, Aunt Polly, and, last but not least,” he gestured to the last of the dwarves with a flourish. “Uncle Doc.”

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Evie said with her brightest smile.

“Oh, and it’s so nice to finally meet you, too!” Mabel Klein declared, stepping around her brothers-in-law to envelope Evie in a tight hug.

Her first instinct was to be caught off guard at such a warm reception, but Evie’s smile softened as she returned the hug properly a second later.

“Although,” Mabel shot a teasing look Doug’s way. “I must admit I was a little disappointed when Derek told me this trip was your idea, and not Doug’s.”

“She’s here, isn’t she?” Doug asked, a little too archly for his tone to be _entirely_ teasing. “You’ve met her now, and can you _really_ blame me if I’m afraid you’ll be overwhelming all at once?”

“I’m sure she’ll do fine here,” Mabel kept a firm arm wrapped around Evie’s shoulders as she asked, “Do you have a bag, sweetheart?”

“There’s a few of them in the trunk, yeah,” Doug said. “If maybe we could get some help with them? I’d like to show Evie around.”

“Well, we all would,” one of the other women – Astrid – pointed out.

“Derek, Sleepy, and I can get the bags, the rest of you go on,” Grumpy ordered, and so Evie was led into the apartment building with Mabel’s arm around her and Doug’s hand in hers.

“So,” Doug began explaining the building’s setup to her as they went inside. “Originally, before my family took over the building, there were eight apartments here. The one to our left has been remodeled into a giant common room with a kitchen, family room, and game room; if you want socialization with people you don’t share an apartment with, that’s the place to look for it. To your right is Uncle Bashful and Aunt Betsy’s apartment. We’re heading upstairs to the second floor, where there’s my apartment, and Uncle Doc’s.” Leaning in closer, he murmured in her ear, “I’m hoping that proximity becomes especially convenient, you know.”

Evie cut him a rebuking look – as did his mother, as she announced, “I heard that.”

“Sorry, Mom,” Doug said, not at all apologetically, as they trooped up the stairs.

“This is our apartment,” Mabel said, throwing open one of the two doors on the second floor.

Doug slipped his hand free to go put his bag away while Evie peered around with Mabel. The apartment was nothing fancy – kitchen, dining nook, living room, one bathroom, two bedrooms – _but it was cozy,_ Evie decided. _Lived in and comfortable and homey._

She peeked into Doug’s bedroom, and was amused if unsurprised to find a bunk bed, two desks, and walls decorated by two distinct personalities. One half of the room was decorated with musical notes, posters of composers, sheet music, and instruments; the other half was covered with posters of athletes, sports’ gear, and a basketball hoop hanging from the ceiling.

Mabel looked around the room as if seeing it with new eyes, as she said fondly, “You’ve got to love it, right?”

Evie grinned at her, agreeing, “I can see how someone would.”

Doug looked at her adoringly before the three of them trekked back into the hallway along with everyone else. Suddenly, there was a hand on her arm, guiding her into the next apartment ahead of the entourage.

“And this,” said the bespectacled dwarf at her side. “Is the apartment where you will be staying with me while you’re here, if that’s agreeable.”

The apartment that Doc led her into was painted the same colors as the first one, but decorated noticeably different; there were books and papers on nearly every surface, and an actual x-ray viewing machine attached to a wall in the main room. It was clean, Evie noted, just cluttered, and when residing with a man who was clearly devoted to his work, she thought she could deal with that.

“Every apartment is set up the same,” Doc informed her. “So, down the hall is the bedrooms,” which he led her to as he spoke. “The one on the left is mine, the one on the right can be yours if you want it.”

So saying, he opened up the door on the left, showing Evie where she would be staying. To her surprise, the room was decorated not entirely unlike her dorm room at Auradon Prep, clearly prepared for a girl, with a white four-poster bed and dresser, frilly red curtains in the small window, and a red, white, and pink quilt covering the bed. The decorations were too juvenile for her, really, but, much like with her dorm room, she found she didn’t care.

Turning to Doc, she announced with a happy little clap, “This is so cute!”

Doc smiled happily. “I’m glad you like it. And… before we head back into the whole hoard of my family, bless them all, I want you to know that I’m really glad you’re here, and that you’re going to be using this space.”

“Thank you.” Evie looked down at him, at his sweet, sincere expression, and then around the room once again as she admitted, “I’m glad, too.”


	7. Chapter 7

Evie spent the rest of the evening with Doug and his extended family in the remodeled apartment that they called the “common room,” and if she thought about it too hard, she was shocked at how easy they made it for her to be there, in the middle of them all. The constant flow of conversation around her made it easy to blend into the background if she wanted to, but their gentle way of teasing and getting her to let down her guard made her want to join in instead.

They were a real family, like something out of the fairytales that she’d been raised to hate, and for one blissful evening it was perfect. For one blissful evening, Evie could see crystal clear how this could work, how a little work of the ILD could get her a real family to be a part of.

Then people began to disperse for the night, and Evie went to Dopey and Mabel’s apartment to tell Doug “goodnight” before she planned to go to Doc’s apartment.

“All I’m saying,” she heard Derek talking behind the closed bedroom door, and paused at the gravity in his tone, unsure if she should interrupt. “Is that if you ever encounter somebody having an anxiety attack like that again, the _last thing_ you should do is take whatever’s helping them.”

“She was freaking out trying to call everybody all at once, and the shakier she got, the more she was going to beat herself up over whatever she said, so I _was_ helping by cutting her off from the phone.”

“No. You may’ve been trying to help, but she didn’t calm down until after I contacted all the people she wanted to, in case you didn’t notice.”

“—After I got her to concentrate on the rhythm, on the counting, on the logical side of her brain like you’re supposed to.”

“In a textbook, sure, but people aren’t textbooks, my nerd. If you want to help _her_ , you need to learn _her_ issues, don’t just assume you know because you’ve read it in a book.”

 _They were arguing because of her,_ Evie realized, a dousing of cold water over her optimism. _Doug was arguing_ with his brother _because of her._ She took a step back, already knowing that _she couldn’t be the reason disagreements came up within this family._

She took one more step back, ready to turn and run, gather her bags, and get on the next bus back to boarding school—and squeaked, automatically elbowing backwards when someone tapped her on the shoulder. There was a surprised grunt, and she turned to see Dopey rubbing his head where she’d hit him.

“Dopey,” she gasped, a hand flying up to cover her mouth. “I’m so sorry! I—”

He was already shaking his head, waving his hand for her to forget about it. But when he raised his hands, a mute automatically moving to communicate with her using sign language like he did with the rest of his family, Evie shook her head helplessly, apologizing again, “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

“He asked why you’re crying,” Mabel murmured, coming up behind her husband.

“I’m not,” Evie whispered, too aware of Doug and Derek on the other side of the bedroom door. But she knew her eyes were wet all the same.

“What’s happened, then?” Mabel asked.

“They,” Evie gestured to the closed door behind her. “Were arguing over me.” Dopey arched his eyebrows in scandalized surprise, and Evie rushed to say, “No, not like _that_ , just… I screwed up on the way here, I freaked out, and they have different opinions on how to handle… me, I guess.”

They gave her a considering look, and Mabel asked, “You’re an only child, aren’t you?”

Evie nodded in confusion.

“Then you don’t understand brothers very well. They have two modes, those boys in there: they’re either each other’s best friends, or each other’s worst enemies. If they’re in a mood to argue, they’ll argue, if not about you, then about something else, so don’t give yourself too much credit, and please don’t just leave.”

“I don’t want to ruin something—”

“See,” Mabel shook her head. “That’s giving yourself too much credit. No family’s perfect, real families fight sometimes, even mine. You don’t have the power to ruin us, Evie Grimhilde, I can promise you that. But we would like the chance to help you if you’ll let us?”

Dopey and Mabel were both watching her, careful and hopeful, until Evie asked hesitantly, “You’re sure you want me here? Because, honestly, I’m about five kinds of a mess sometimes and—”

“And that means you’ll just fit in with the rest of us,” Mabel said, her tone as firm as her grip on Evie’s hand.

Looking between Doug’s parents, Evie nodded slowly. “Okay. Then I’ll stay.”

“Promise?” Mabel asked.

Evie smiled as best she could. “Yeah.”

“Good. Now, if I were you, I’d wipe those beautiful eyes of yours before I tell the boys ‘goodnight,’ if that’s what you were here for.” Evie nodded once again, wiping at her eyes as Dopey knocked on his sons’ bedroom door. “We wanted to tell you ‘goodnight,’” Mabel explained when Derek opened the door.

“Good night, Mom,” Derek said, moving aside to let the trio in before he hugged his mother, and Doug jumped down from the top bunk of the bunkbed to do the same, hugging Dopey, then Mabel, and finally Evie.

She sunk into his embrace with an ease that it had been difficult for her to hold onto throughout the day, and he whispered, “You okay?”

Evie nodded against his chest. “Are you?”

Doug nodded. “I am if you are.” Content that they’d done what they came in for, Dopey and Mabel told Derek, Doug, and Evie one more “goodnight” before they left the room. Doug took Evie’s hands in his own, searching her expression as he said, “And, for the record, it’s been pointed out to me that I probably could’ve helped you handle your stress earlier today a little better than I did. If I was unhelpful, or if, god forbid, I made it worse, I’m sorry.”

“Thank you,” Evie said carefully, and then, just to be clear, “All’s forgiven.”

“If you ever need me to do something different than what I’m doing, or to stop doing something that I’m doing—”

“I’ll let you know,” Evie promised with a gentle smile.

“Good. Because, you know, I’m learning, too, and if I’m going to learn, I want to learn how to do something in a way that’s right… right for you.”

“I know you do, and I know you try very hard, and I love you for it,” Evie said. “I really, really do.”

Doug looked like he was about to say something else, but before he could, Mabel poked her head back in the room, checking, “Evie, you do know you have to stay at Doc’s and not in this room, right?”

“Mom!” Doug objected loudly as Derek snorted from his bed.

“I do,” Evie promised, pushing away the small stab of self-loathing that the simple comment brought to mind. Instead, she grinned carefully at Doug, going up on her tiptoes to kiss him before she said, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” he repeated as she pulled away and followed Mabel into the main room.

Mabel walked all the way across the hall with her to Doc’s door before she wrapped Evie in another tight hug – the second one of the day – and said, “Goodnight, sweet girl.”

“Goodnight, Mrs. Klein,” Evie replied with a small smile. “And thank you.”

Mabel nodded, replying, “Thank _you_ for giving us a chance.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Good morning,” Doc greeted Evie when she emerged from her bedroom – _well, the bedroom he was letting her stay in. No… maybe it was okay for her to consider it her bedroom_ – the next morning. “Do you drink coffee?”

Evie shook her head, glancing at the large mug he had in his hands. “No, but thank you.”

“I was planning on having breakfast in the common room with some of the others,” Doc told her. “I usually do before I go into work, but I require caffeination before being around that many people. If you want to head down, though, you can.”

Evie smiled that, agreeing, “Alright,” and off she went.

Grumpy, Doug and his family, Sneezy, and Polly were already there when Evie came in, and they greeted her with a round of mostly cheerful “hellos.” Grumpy looked to be only halfway through his first cup of coffee, though, and only grunted a half-hearted greeting while raising his mug to her.

“There are teabags in the drawer underneath the coffee maker, mugs in the cabinet above it,” Doug said, getting up from his chair to kiss her on the cheek. “And Aunt Polly made pancakes.”

“Sounds delicious,” Evie replied. “Thank you.”

She had just settled into a seat at the long dining table when Doc came into the room, and right behind him, Astrid with a phone pressed to her ear as she declared, “Gordon says we have to turn the TV on to channel two.”

“Why do we want to ruin a perfectly good morning with the news?” Derek asked, but Sneezy was already turning on the television.

A clip of the media coverage of Mal’s wardship signing was playing – an interview Jay had spoken in, detailing how they wanted to bring more VKs over from the Isle – and over that, a voiceover of a news reporter that Evie couldn’t quite place blasting the plan as dangerous and foolhardy. She was doing her best to discredit the ILD almost before it could even get off the ground, and that wasn’t going to help them find homes for any incoming VKs.

“Snow White,” Doc breathed, clearly heartbroken.

_The reporter was Snow White!_

“She’s a fashion editor!” Grumpy snapped, his face flushed red as he slammed his coffee cup down on the table. “What the hell is she doing running a current events piece?!”

The clip of Jay’s interview turned into a shot of Snow White’s face as she continued, “As a mother, and a princess, and someone that the Isle of the Lost Division has already tried to reach out to for support, I am concerned for what the wide-spread integration of VKs will mean for our society, and given the backlash that the Isle of the Lost Division has woken up to this morning, it’s clear that I’m not the only one worried for our people.”

“What does she mean ‘backlash?’” Doug asked, looking to Evie even as he reached for her hand on the tabletop.

Evie shook her head, murmuring, “I don’t know, but I know how to find out.” She pushed back from the table, and Doug followed her as she stepped away, took her phone from her pocket, and called the ILD’s number.

“Jane LaFae, Isle of the Lost Division of Auradon’s social services. To whom am I speaking?”

Evie blinked in surprise, firstly having expected someone else, and secondly, surprised to hear Jane sounding so frazzled already this early in the morning. “Jane? It’s Evie. We just saw the news. Is everything okay?”

“Evie? No, it’s not okay; it’s a mess. I mean, it’s okay. We’ll be okay, but things are a mess right now.”

“Take a breath, Jane,” Evie prompted. “Then tell me what’s going on, and how I can help.”

Over the phone, Evie heard Jane draw in a breath, then begin, “Snow White’s running that news piece on mainstream morning news, right? Well, apparently, yesterday, when Mrs. Radcliffe received no calls, was the calm before the storm while people prepared their attacks for today. The phone’s been ringing off the hook with people concerned about the number of VKs who might be ‘invading’ Auradon – everything from ‘how much of our tax money is going to have to go towards VK scholarships now, when I can’t even afford Auradon Prep for my own kids’ to ‘how will Little Timmy react, seeing these _big bads_ every day in school.’ We’re all here – Mr. and Mrs. Radcliffe and Carlos, Mom and I, Jay, Mal, even Lonnie – we’ve all downloaded that phone number app so we can all take calls and try to control the chaos.”

“How can we help?” Evie asked firmly.

“From Charmington?” Jane asked. “There’s not much else to do besides weather the storm for right now, so if you want to, I can give you the name of the app, and you can field calls like we are, but I’m not sure what else the plan is for right now.”

“But we have to do something,” Evie pointed out what she knew Jane, resident event planner, of all people, already understood. “If we don’t have people on our side, we’ll have no place to send incoming VKs.”

“I know, but we have to have time to gather a… a counterattack,” Jane replied.

“And there’s nothing else we can do?”

“Not immediately, no.”

“Then I need to talk to Mrs. Radcliffe, if I can. I want to know what part of what Snow White is telling is the truth.”

“Give me a second; let me see if I can get her on this call.”

A few tense seconds passed before Mrs. Radcliffe asked over the phone, “Miss Grimhilde?”

“Yes, it’s me. Jane said the only thing we can do from here is help you field calls?”

“For the moment, yes. If we fight back too harshly, I’m afraid we’ll incite something we’re not prepared for.”

“But Snow White isn’t even telling the truth, is she? Not all of it. Not all of the VKs that may come over are automatically going to Auradon Prep, right?”

“That’s true.”

“And you never mentioned asking Snow White for help with the ILD, so—”

“But I did,” Mrs. Radcliffe broke in evenly. “I asked for help in a case, and I explained to her what we had planned, assuming she would understand better than most in Auradon. She said ‘no,’ she wouldn’t help, and in fact became quite upset over the whole idea. I didn’t think it worth mentioning at the time, but now it appears I was wrong in that belief.”

“What about the DNA tests we have planned?”

“They’re still going ahead as planned,” Mrs. Radcliffe assured her. “People left to gather the DNA samples this morning before this whole mess started; those won’t be stopped, or to my knowledge even paused. What we do with the information may look a little different now, but that, I’m afraid, must be a problem for a later time. For now, I’m sorry, Miss Grimhilde, but they need my help here, and I—”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll let you go. Hey, ah, if you could ask Carlos or Jane or someone to send me the name of the app you’re all using, I’d like to help where I can.”

“Of course.”

Evie hung up with her, taking a deep breath as she looked into Doug’s worried eyes, worry that she knew was reflected in her own expression. “I’m not even surprised,” she admitted quietly. “Disappointed, but not surprised.”

Doug pulled her close, asking just as quietly, “What do you want to do? You name it, and I’m right there with you.”

“I—” Evie hesitated, hating to even say it. “I don’t want to pull you away from your family, but I need to go back to Auradon City and be with the others. If you’d rather I caught a bus, I can, no problem.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Doug said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We can be on the road in twenty minutes.” Evie nodded, squeezing his hand as they turned back to the dining area. He addressed the room at large as he said, “Evie and I are going to head back to Auradon Prep and see what we can do from the heart of the issue. We’ll see you next week at Derek’s graduation, alright? Derek, are you going to be able to find a way back to school before Monday, or do you need to come back now, too?”

“I’ll make Dad bring me back Sunday night,” Derek said, trying to lighten the mood with a lopsided smile towards his father.

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t go where you think you’ll be the most helpful,” Doc pointed out. “But I’d say that ‘the heart of the issue’ is here in Charmington, not in Auradon City. That news piece was forwarded to the Auradon news station from here in Charmington; you could see Florian’s castle in the background while Snow was giving her speech.”

“Then let the kids go back to Auradon City,” Grumpy said. “And the Kleins left here can take care of Snow White.”

“You don’t mean that,” Astrid said quietly.

“I might,” Grumpy shot back.

“I—” Evie began. “Snow White is your friend, right?”

“Of sorts,” Doc agreed carefully. “But there’s been disagreements between our families for over twenty years, given the restrictions put on sidekicks; this is just something else to add to the pile of disagreements. Don’t worry about us, you two get on the road and worry about your friends and those VKs. We’ll be here when you get back.” He arched an eyebrow, asking a little hopefully, “If you’re planning on coming back?”

Evie hesitated, thinking for only a second before she decided aloud, “For all summer starting next week, if you’ll still let me.” _If they still wanted her to be a part of their family, even after the past twelve hours with them, she was willing to become a part of it in whatever capacity they decided upon._

“Of course we will!” Mabel declared, giving her and Doug both parting hugs.

“We’ll be glad to,” Doc agreed, a little quieter than Mabel, but no less pleased with Evie’s decision.

“Thank you again for having me,” Evie called, and then she and Doug hurried to repack their barely opened suitcases.


	9. Chapter 9

Evie called Mal once she and Doug were back on the road, letting her friend know they were returning to Auradon City.

“I hate that you cut your trip short; there’s literally nothing you can do here that you couldn’t do in Charmington.”

“Which I appreciate, but we all know that we’re stronger together than apart.”

“Yeah, okay,” Mal relented, not unhappily.

Evie’s phone rang, as did Mal’s – a call for the ILD through the number transferal app. “I’ll come to the ILD office as soon as we’re back in Auradon, okay?”

“Sure. I’ll see you soon.”

Mal hung up with her so that Evie could answer the ILD’s call. “Evie Grimhilde, Isle of the Lost Division. To whom am I speaking?”

_Here went nothing._

* * *

When Evie and Doug walked into the ILD office once they were back in Auradon City, the little space had been turned into an informal call center. Mrs. Radcliffe was sitting behind her desk, Fairy Godmother and Mal were sitting across from her. Carlos was sitting on the desk itself while Jay, Jane, Mr. Radcliffe, and Lonnie wore tracks in the carpet from pacing. Every one of them were on their phones.

Behind Evie, Doug was on her phone, too, since he’d offered to take the next call after their arrival, and this time she’d gladly surrendered the device.

Catching her eye, Carlos waved her wildly over to him. He hung up his phone as she approached. “Hi. Three things,” he declared. “One: I would love you hear all about your trip, but—” he waved at the busyness around them.

“Later,” Evie agreed.

“Two: since you called Mal, we’ve received two phone calls that were actually noteworthy, and those I guess are both points two and three here…”

“What calls were they?” Evie prompted with an amused smile.

“One was from a lab tech who’s on the Isle gathering DNA samples. He wanted us to know that Uma is on the Isle; she found her way back in, I guess, and had been inciting fights with Mom, Jafar, and the Evil Queen over who should rule the Isle without Maleficent there. So, if nothing else, at least that means we can give Mrs. Radcliffe the names of the next four VKs we’re going to be bringing over.”

“You want to do that even in the middle of all these calls?”

“We might as well, just so we’re all on the same page, and Mrs. R can start working on her side of things, if she wants to, if she has time to.”

“And there’s been no change in the ‘Gil, too,’ conversation?”

Carlos shook his head. “Not that I know of. King Adam is sticking to his Legume ban, and Ben is still trying to pick his battles, so…”

He looked at her pityingly as he trailed off, and she supplied, “So we wait.”

“Yeah,” he murmured.

“But,” she said with firm optimism while adding Gil and his kin to her growing list of things to deal with later. “In the meantime, we’ll at least get four more over here.”

“Which bring me to the other important call – from Astrid Klein. She, Grumpy, Dopey, and Derek Klein all went see Snow White right after you left their house. Snow White explained that she and Queen Leah organized this within Charmington and Auroria as a ‘peaceful protest’ that would also give people wanting to actually _help_ the VKs some extra time – waiting to have their call answered – to reconsider.”

“So, this is all just from Charmington and Auroria?”

“The prank calls, rants, and concerns are mostly coming from there, yes.”

“That’s good news, then. Only two states hate us, and not everybody.”

Carlos smirked, rolling his eyes before he said, “It also means that the calls should stop once office hours do. Until then,” he held up his ringing phone. “We persevere.”

* * *

So, they did.

As office hours ended, the calls “suddenly” stopped, so Fairy Godmother, Jane, and Lonnie left. Evie followed Doug as he stepped out of the office to go too.

“I’m sorry if I messed up your plans for your weekend.”

“Nah. I’ll be there next week for the rest of my summer, so it’s totally fine.”

“It’ll be _our_ summer now,” Evie reminded him with a grin as the thought cheered her considerably.

“Even better,” Doug murmured, leaning in to kiss her goodbye. “I’ll see you Monday before class, okay?”

“Okay,” Evie repeated with a smile, turning to go back into the office.

“E, you’re still here!” Mal said happily. “Good. Mrs. Radcliffe, I know it’s been a super long day, but I wanted to mention, so that we’re all on the same page, that we’ve chosen the VKs who will be coming to Auradon next fall to attend Auradon Prep.”

Mrs. Radcliffe’s eyebrows rose about her tired eyes, but she picked up a pen and pulled a pad of sticky notes closer. “Very well.”

“Ben chose Uma Atlantica, Ursula’s daughter, I’ve chosen Harriet and Harry Hook, two of Captain Hook’s kids, and Evie’s chosen Dizzy Tremaine, daughter of Drizella Tremaine.”

“Noted.” Mrs. Radcliffe attached the sticky note to the edge of her computer, promising, “I will see what I can do.”

“Thank you,” Mal replied, giving her a tired but grateful smile.

Mrs. Radcliffe returned the smile in kind. “Of course. Now I have a question for Jay and Miss Grimhilde.”

“What’s up?” Jay asked.

“We’ve already sent a sample of Carlos’ DNA to the genetics lab to see if we can discover who his father is. Since neither of your dossiers list your second parent, I thought you might also like the opportunity to do the same.”

 _A chance to find out who her father was?_ Evie thought as her stomach flipped at the idea. _Did she want to? Why… wouldn’t she want to?_

She and Jay looked at each other, nervously gauging what the other thought of the idea, then they nodded together, agreeing, “Okay, let’s do it.”

* * *

For the first time, Evie found herself staying alone in hers and Mal’s dorm room overnight. It gave her far too much time in her own whirling mind as she sewed some, studied some, got ready for bed, and eventually tried – and failed – to fall asleep.

Thoughts of the Kleins, VKs, DNA tests, her biological family, even Uma, Dizzy, and the Hook family kept her wide awake and deep in thought. She gasped, startled out of her thoughts when someone knocked on her door.

_No one should’ve been in the halls this late!_

Her eyes widened as the door eased silently open, and she reached for the statue she kept on her bedside table, standing just as soundlessly with it.

“Evie,” a familiar voice hissed into the darkness.

She set the statue back down with an irritated clatter snapping quietly, “Jay, you—” She refrained from calling him what came to mind as he stepped inside and shut the door. Instead, she gestured to the statue. “I almost bludgeoned you!”

“Sorry,” Jay apologized as she turned on her bedside lamp.

“You can’t just _be here_ , Jay, you know it’s after curfew.”

“But I am here,” Jay replied, giving her his most winning smile.

Evie rolled here eyes, asking, “And why’s that?”

“It’s weird to be by myself, without Carlos in our room,” Jay said with a shrug.

Which was probably true, but she knew Jay, knew he was trying to behave better – they all were – and he wouldn’t have broken curfew for no good reason. So, she propped her hands on her hips, gave him a disbelieving look, and waited for the truth.

Jay glanced away, muttering, “I’m thinking about my dad too much, I guess.” Evie held her breathe, waited a few seconds more, and, as she’d expected, Jay added, “And my mom.”

There it was. _That_ was why he’d come to her in the middle of the night.

Her hands fell from her hips as she muttered, “Yeah, I know.”

He moved to sit on the edge of her bed, and she sat beside him, giving up on getting him to leave as he asked, “You really don’t know who your dad is?”

Evie shook her head. “I’ve got no idea.”

Surprising herself with how much she didn’t like where this conversation was headed, she lay back down on her bed and turned her face to the wall.

It was enough unlike her that Jay put a careful hand on her shoulder. “Evie?” he asked worriedly.

Evie sighed heavily, still staring at the wall. “If you must know, I asked my mom once. I must’ve been about seven.”

Behind her, Jay slowly lay down, reaching out to hold her hand as he asked softly, “What happened?”


	10. Chapter 10

“Mom was always so worried about bruises, scrapes, scratches – anything that could mess up my skin – and most of the time she really tried to be a decent mom. But asking her about my dad… she’s never been that angry with me before or since. It was the one time she ever hit me. I never asked again.”

Jay wormed his other arm underneath her and hugged her. “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged, brushing it off by saying, “I know I had it better than most, and I was really lucky… regarding physical abuse.” She turned in his arms, close enough that she could see his expression in the darkness. “What about you and your mom?”

“All I know about her is that her name starts with a ‘J,’ and that she’s her family’s pride and joy.”

 _That was strange information to have._ “How do you know those things?”

Jay moved to lay on his back and stare at the ceiling as he said, “When my dad gets frustrated, right, sometimes he says things that barely make sense. Like that he shouldn’t have even bothered with giving me a full name, just the letter ‘J’ would’ve been enough, and he only gave me the name I have because he thought it was clever that all three of us had a name that started with ‘J.’”

“And ‘she’s her family’s pride and joy?’”

It was Jay’s turn to sigh before he explained, “Sometimes, though, my dad still made sense, and sometimes those were the days he… really scared me. Before he was brought to the Isle, he was a great manipulator of people, and he still can be. He told me a few times, ‘if you want to ruin something – a person, a family, a country – ruin their pride and joy, the center jewel in their crown.’ And then he always got that gleeful, dark little twinkle in his eyes that could remind a person of who he used to be, and what he was capable of, and he would add with a self-satisfied smirk, ‘like I ruined your mother.’ Evie,” Jay was very carefully not looking at her as he said quietly, “You know as well as anybody that word has a lot of definitions, and if he means the type of ‘ruined’ that I think he does, I don’t know if I… if I want to know that he can be that bad. Also, I can’t expect a woman who’s already given me up to want to have anything to do with me.” Evie’s heart hurt to look at the uncertainty on his face, and she laid her head on his chest rather than see it as he admitted, “I’m scared of what happens now.”

“What happens now,” Evie replied, soft, and with more certainty than she felt, “Is we wait a week to get the test results back from the lab, we find out something new about ourselves, and we go from there.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have given Mrs. Radcliffe the DNA sample,” Jay muttered darkly.

“It’s too late to second-guess yourself now,” Evie reminded him. “Now we just have to wait to get the results whether or not we want them.”

* * *

So, they waited, and it was easier than Evie had anticipated, since they were busy with the end of the school year anyway.

The following Friday evening, with their first summer vacation in Auradon now stretching out in front of them, found the VKs celebrating at a faculty-hosted picnic before the students started loading up into vehicles and going home. Carlos had already left with the Radcliffes, Mal and Jay had spent last night taking their things to Auradon Castle, and Evie’s things were all packed up for transport to the Kleins’ home.

As the picnic wound down, Evie, Mal, and Jay decided to make their way across campus to where the seniors were graduating, but by the time arrived, even that had dwindled to nothing but a few final group photo ops.

Spotting the Kleins making up one large cluster – with Derek in the middle as the graduate – Evie grinned and called bravely across the lawn, “Congratulations, Derek!”

“Hey!” Jay joined in, recognizing a fellow “jock.” “Go, Klein!”

Derek waved happily at them, calling back, “’Go’ is right; I’m out of here!”

The VKs laughed, with him, but Evie was surprised when once of the dwarves called out, “C’m’ere!”

“Grumpy?” Mal guessed with raised eyebrows as they headed in that direction.

“Probably,” Evie hazarded. When they joined the Kleins, she realized that with Doug’s cousins added, there were almost twice as many as there had been last weekend. She hoped her trepidation didn’t show on her face as she asked Happy, “Do you want me to take some pictures so you can be in them with everyone else?”

“Sure!”

Happy handed her the camera, and Evie snapped a couple dozen photos of various people with Derek before Jay whispered something to Mal, and Mal tapped Evie on the shoulder, extending her hand expectantly. “My turn now.”

Confused, Evie obligingly handed her friend the camera anyway.

Doug understood what Mal meant where Evie didn’t, and he bid Evie, “Come here.”

“You want me in your picture?” she asked in surprise.

“We do,” Doug said firmly.

“Please?” Doc asked the kindness in his tone where it had resided primarily in Doug’s eyes.

Evie caved easily, flattered and flustered all at once that they would want her in their family photo. She tucked herself under Doug’s waiting arm, and he murmured sweetly so only she could hear, “Don’t you know you’re stuck with us now?”

Evie smiled brightly at the camera, not moving her lips as she admitted, “I don’t mind.”

* * *

Once the graduation was completely over, Doc promised Evie he’d bring over some reinforcements to help her move her things, and it was a promise he delivered _well_ on. Mal’s eyes widened, and she looked at Evie in their shared shock as Doc, Happy, Happy’s wife, Hazel, and no less than nine young men and boys trooped through Auradon Prep and into their dorm room.

Doc must’ve seen the look on her face because he put a hand on her arm and suggested, “Just tell us where to start. We can all figure it out as we go, as needed, right?”

 _Wasn’t that the truth?!_ Evie nodded. She took a deep breath, facing Mal, Jay, and the dozen other people waiting for instructions, and began, “Alright, all the clothing bags go, and the boxes of accessories, shoes, and fabric. The sewing machine and dress form come too, but I would prefer th—”

“Actually,” Doc interrupted quietly. “We would prefer the sewing machine and dress form stay here for now.” Evie’s panic must have blossomed instantly on her face – _she had dress orders to fill and deadlines to meet!_ – because Doc put his hand on her arm again as he promised, “At least not today, but if we get back to the house and you still feel you need them, I will personally… send Doug back to get them.”

He smiled at his own timid joke, and, secure in the fact that Doug would come back here if she needed him to, Evie smiled slightly in return. “Okay.”


	11. Chapter 11

Her second trip to Charmington was vastly different than her first. Sans her own meltdown that she was opting not to think about, the ride with Doug and Derek had been calm. This second trip was two fifteen-passenger vans _filled_ with students’ things and twenty-five people. She was even in the van with less people and sitting in the “seat of honor” according to Sleepy beside the driver, Doc, and still she had to adjust to the level of noise their trip started out with. The level of chaos that she was pretty sure was par for the course with the Klein family.

Something told her she was going to learn to love it.

She was delighted to find herself proven correct when Doug leaned forward from the bench seat behind her, tapped her shoulder, and requested, “Kiss?”

She complied without a thought, and, from beside Doug, Grumpy’s son, Gordon, complained, “Ugh, Douglas, not in front of my salad!”

He was teasing, but Doug shot Gordon an unimpressed look as he pointed out dryly, “You’re eating an _apple_.”

“And you’re gonna make me choke on it!”

Evie looked at Gordon – the loose set of his shoulders, the sparkle in his eyes, and his ready smile – and took a calculated risk, teasing in return “Watch out, or I’ll poison it.”

Sitting behind Derek, Happy’s gothic son, Hap, cracked a smile as Derek laughed. Surprise flashed through Gordon’s eyes as he doffed an imaginary hat to her, the bright smile on his face so unlike his father as he said, “Alright, princess, I see you.”

“As it should be,” she replied, attempting haughty and only managing merry before she turned to face forward again.

“I like her,” Gordon informed Doug. “We’re keeping her, right?”

“I am, anyway,” Dough answered as Evie smiled happily to herself.

Derek added, “That’s kind of the point of the extra luggage.”

“Because another person is exactly what we need in our building,” Hap groused.

Gordon threw his apple core at Hap’s head, and the van erupted into chaos once again, waking up SJ and Sneezy where they’d been sleeping the trip away.

Doc rolled his eyes, leaning across the console to whisper to Evie, “This is why I wanted a daughter instead of more boys, much as I love them.”

 _Doc Klein was an extraordinarily gentle man,_ Evie decided, hearing clearly what he was implying as she smiled gratefully at him.

When they arrived at the Kleins’ apartment building, every person took a couple boxes or bags, and the vans were unpacked within three trips apiece.

“Evie?” Doc poked his head into her room, asking as she opened her first clothing bag. “Were your boxes of fabric brought in here?”

Evie looked around, noticing a distinct shortage of boxes before she said, “No.”

Doc bit back a smile. “I didn’t think so. Would you like to see where they put your fabric?”

Evie eyed him suspiciously but shrugged and followed him downstairs. “Sure.”

Even in the midst of a dozen teenagers unpacking throughout the building, Doc and Evie attracted a following as they went downstairs to the common room – Doug, Derek, and all the adults. In a moment of paranoia, Evie wondered if there would always be people watching her here – the lone VK in the building – but no one was looking at her in suspicion as Doc opened the door to the common area’s unused office.

“In here?” she asked, looking into the room – and gasping when she saw a sewing machine and dress form, a fabric rack waiting for her fabric to be unboxed, even a small desk where she could sketch or Doug could do his accounting.

She gaped, looking at Doc as he said, “For your business,” and then, quieter, “Welcome home, Evie.”

She gripped his hand for a moment looking around at him and all the others as she replied, genuinely touched, “Thank you.”

* * *

With a week full of unpacking facing her, Evie decided the next morning that she could allow herself to slow down and take time to join the family breakfast in the common room if she felt like it. And she felt like it. She got up before Doc, but by the time she finished getting ready, he was sitting at his kitchen table with his coffee.

Impulsively, she came up behind him and gave him a quick hug. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” he replied, putting a hand on her arm to do his best to return the hug before she continued towards the door. “Headed to the common room?”

“Yes. Are you – after coffee, I mean?”

He nodded, and off she went. Polly, Gus, Hazel, and Hap were clearly in charge of the cooking when she got there, and most of the others were already sitting around the exceptionally long dining room table with their breakfast.

“Good morning,” Doug greeted her with a kiss.

“My salad!” Gordon called an objection from the breakfast table.

“Poison it,” Evie shot back merrily.

When Astrid and Grumpy shot them alarmed looks, Gordon waved away their concern from where they sat beside him.

“You fit right in,” Doug observed in a whisper, and Evie gave him a small, relieved smile at the thought. “Remember, there’s mugs above the coffee maker, and—”

“—Tea underneath,” Evie recalled. “I remember.”

“And Aunt Polly and Aunt Hazel made breakfast, as you’ll find they will all summer, since they have Gus and Hap to help them.”

Evie’s smile stayed in place as she disentangled herself from Doug and approached the island where the cooks in question were setting out platters of bacon and eggs. “Thank you for breakfast,” she said to them, getting a plateful of food and nibbling on it as she made a cup of tea and took it all to the breakfast table. She put her plate down between Doug and Bashful, Jr., and sat through a bustling, perfectly normal family breakfast.

She was putting her dishes in the dishwasher, as everyone did when they finished their own meal in the building, when her phone rang. Stepping away from the dishwasher, she felt tension instantly snap her shoulders rigid as she saw Mrs. Radcliffe’s name and number on the screen.

“Are you alright?” asked Happy, standing nearest her.

She gave him a thin smile, nodded as she stepped out into the hallway. “Hi, Mrs. Radcliffe.”


	12. Chapter 12

“Hello, Miss Grimhilde. How are you today?”

“I’m fine,” Evie answered, adding politely, “And you?” even though the niceties felt like having teeth pulled when she just _knew_ there were only a couple reasons why Mrs. Radcliffe would have called.

“I’m well, thank you. I thought you might like to know that I’ve begun receiving the DNA test results from the VKs, and in fact I had yours, Carlos’, and Jay’s expedited to the front of the line, as it were.”

“You know who my father is,” Evie deduced, hoping her impatience and nerves didn’t show.

Doug slipped up behind her, hugging her around the waist as he put his chin on her shoulder and literally helped support her.

“I do,” Mrs. Radcliffe affirmed. “Is it possible for you to come back to Auradon City to discuss it?”

Evie hesitated, and Doug nodded, his chin jabbing into her shoulder with every movement. “Of course, for your _father_ , sweetheart.”

“Miss Grimhilde,” Mrs. Radcliffe paused, trying to urge Evie past her hesitation. “I’m afraid this isn’t a conversation I want to have over the phone.”

Trepidation sank like a stone in Evie’s stomach. “That bad?” Carefully, she asked, “Did you find any other relatives of mine?” _After all, that question could be taken to mean any number of things, right?_

Doug kissed her hair, listening in on the conversation still as he offered her what little comfort he could.

“I found your father, nothing more yet,” Mrs. Radcliffe answered, and with Doug so close Evie tried not to react to that declaration as Mrs. Radcliffe inquired gently, “When can I see you?”

“Tell her we’re on our way if that’s what you want,” Doug whispered.

Her voice was small, not sure what she wanted, but knowing what she _needed_ to do as she repeated, “We’re on our way.”

Evie and Mrs. Radcliffe hung up, and Evie went with Doug back into the common room.

“Is everything okay?” Doc asked worriedly upon sight of Evie’s troubled expression.

“Yeah,” Doug said.

Evie offered a more useful, “My DNA test results came back, and Mrs. Radcliffe said it’s not the sort of conversation she wants to have over the phone, so… we’re going back to Auradon City for the day.” Evie watched as Doc nodded, and when the thought came to mind, she found herself asking him, “Do you work today?”

“Not this Saturday, no.”

She glanced at Doug, very aware they were traveling in his car, as always, and he nodded agreeably to her unspoken question before Evie asked Doc, “Would you like to come with us?” She didn’t realize how much she wanted the kind man – her new father figure – there until she saw the surprise on his face, and added in a whisper, “Please?”

His expression softened as he stood, saying, “Of course I’ll come.”

* * *

In Mal’s private suite at Beast’s castle less than three hours later, Evie found herself standing nervously beside Jay as Mrs. Radcliffe withdrew three unremarkable pieces of paper from her briefcase. “I have shockingly little to offer the three of you,” she said apologetically.

She handed Carlos a piece of paper as Jay, as nervous as Evie, grabbed her hand.

“What does yours say, Carlos?” Mal asked. “Who’s your dad?”

Carlos shrugged. “Mrs. Radcliffe and I already discussed my results on the way up here, but,” he handed Mal the paper. “This is what the results look like, if you want to know. My dad is Robert Mullins.”

“Mullins,” Mal repeated. “One of Hook’s pirates.”

Carlos nodded, shrugged again. “I’m not surprised, I’m not excited, it just… is what it is, and I have no desire whatsoever to do anything about it.”

“Just now you know,” Jay said understandingly.

“Now I know,” Carlos repeated agreeably.

“Jay,” Mrs. Radcliffe said, extending a piece of paper to him with a frown. “I’m sorry to say that no match to your DNA has been forthcoming.”

“Meaning what?” Jay asked, frowning himself as he looked over the piece of paper he took from Mrs. Radcliffe.

Evie leaned towards him to see it, noting the blank space where a maternal name should’ve been.

“Meaning your mom is probably in Auradon,” Mal supplied. “We knew that was a possibility for some VKs, remember?”

“Yeah, sure,” Jay said, before asking, “But how do we find her?”

“We’re working on that,” Mrs. Radcliffe assured him. “There are other databases we could cross-reference the DNA with, but the people of Auradon proper have more rights; there’s more red tape to get through to do that. I’m toying with a couple other ideas as well, but it will take time. Please understand, we’re not giving up, but it will take time to get you a real answer.”

“For now, though,” Mal offered. “At least you know she’s somewhere here, in the US of A.”

“And she’s probably a _good_ person, if she’s still here,” Evie added.

Jay gave the girls a small, discouraged smile, and Evie _knew_ he was retreating into the darker corners of his mind, re-weighing the probabilities of what his father had done to make him exist, wondering if this indicated Jafar was as vile as Jay feared.

“What about me?” Evie asked, squeezing Jay’s hand to try to get him to pay attention to the present instead of dwelling on his dad’s sins.

“The database was able to identify your father, Miss Grimhilde,” Mrs. Radcliffe revealed, giving Evie the last sheet of paper. “But… I’m sorry, I’m afraid he died well before you were born.”

“Oh,” Evie said flatly, not even surprised as she looked at the date of her father’s death before even his name. “Graham Humbert,” she whispered to herself.

At the same time, Carlos asked carefully, “How long before you were born? Because clearly there’s some math there to consider. Maybe the database found your uncle instead or something?”

“No,” Evie shook her head, answered on a sigh. “I’m sure it’s not a mistake. My dad’s Graham Humbert, the huntsman who worked for my mom but helped Snow White. He died during the time my mom was still trying to establish some semblance of power on the Isle, and killing her own disloyal henchman definitely would’ve been the thing to do if she wanted to make sure people knew her name. Plus, we all know she wanted vengeance on him for his failure to kill Snow White in the first place.”

“You think your mom killed him?” Mal double-checked.

Carlos added, “ _After_ she… you know, got together with him?”

“Don’t kid yourselves,” Evie said in the same detached tone. “Killing someone while they’re asleep in her bed is definitely something my mom would’ve done in her younger days.” She scoffed, adding, “Maybe she even would still, if she could get somebody in her bed.” She shrugged, making herself shake off her mood as she looked squarely at Carlos and said with a thin smile, “It is what it is, and now I know.”


	13. Chapter 13

Doc, almost forgotten in a corner of the room, approached Evie and wrapped a comforting arm around her as he asked in confusion, “But why was Humbert on the Isle in the first place? He’s the man who saved Snow White’s life.”

“Officially,” Mrs. Radcliffe replied. “He was listed as an accessory to attempted murder, and a conspirator with a villain.”

“’Conspirator with a villain?’” Jay repeated. “That’s a _thing_?”

“It was made a ‘thing,’ a charge to be levelled against someone,” Doc supplied. “When they originally set up the Isle, as a blanket term to get a lot of the simply dubious people sent there, and a lot of the practitioners of magic. I know of people who were sent there on that charge alone.”

“Who?” Evie asked.

“Well, there was a man from Neverland, Smee, and a few others from Hook’s crew who were never quite as bad as the rest of their crewmates… and a man from Kuzco’s Village, Kronk, off the top of my head.”

“That’s terrible,” Jay murmured. “I never realized…”

Doc nodded, adding, “A number of the Agrabahn palace guards are there for the same reason, actually.”

“What can be done to help them?” Jay asked. “All of them. Do they really deserve to be on the Isle for the rest of their lives if they never did anything besides _talk_ to a villain?”

“It’s not as simple as that,” Mrs. Radcliffe replied apologetically.

“But we can’t just… do nothing.” Evie held up her DNA test, saying, “Innocent people die that way.”

“They have a point,” Doc said.

“I know,” Mrs. Radcliffe replied. “But how? Turning public opinion, much as I would like it to be otherwise, is a very slow process.”

There was a beat of silence, and then Evie looked at Doc as she was struck with the obvious. “Media. The news, television, social media – all of it. If we can televise Mal’s wardship signing, and Snow White can make a piece tearing us down, why can’t we counter her with a piece building up the ILD? Try to sway public opinion, maybe a little at a time, but we can do it.” She turned to Mrs. Radcliffe, asking hopefully, “Couldn’t we?”

Mrs. Radcliffe looked between them all, a small smile growing on her face as she admitted, “It never hurts to try. But where do we even start?”

Evie, Doc, Mal, and Doug sat down on Mal’s bed as Mrs. Radcliffe sat at Mal’s vanity, and Carlos and Jay sat in wingback chairs – getting comfortable for the brainstorming session ahead as Doug began, “Evie has a point: if Snow White’s going to try and slam us on TV, I think we have to start by standing up for ourselves on TV.”

* * *

Later that day, walking from Mal’s suite to her own guest room with Doc at her side, Evie declared, “I think I would like to try and actually _stay_ in Charmington next weekend. All your hospitality and willingness to let me be a part of your home, and I feel like I’ve only barely been with you and your family.”

“We’re your family too now,” Doc reminded her softly. “And it’s your home as well. And we don’t mind the fact that you’re busy; we all understood when the family agreed to have you join us that you’re a very active young woman, in a sense. You have a business, and you’re active in the politics here, and either of those could be as demanding as a full-time job, never mind the fact that you’re also a student. As much as we would like for you to live with us, it’s most important to us that you simply know you have a home to come to if you do want it.”

Evie smiled at him, unable to explain how grateful she was for this kind family as she said inadequately, “Thank you.”

“Of course. To the point of making you feel at home, though, I’ve been meaning to mention that, uh, you could rearrange or… you could redecorate your room in the apartment, if you’d like.”

“Are you sure?” Evie asked in surprise. “It’s not that I mind what’s there at all, I just thought that you had redecorated the room for me before I came.” She shrugged, adding, “Since it’s so clearly for a girl, and there’s none of those in your family.”

Evie paused, afraid she’d said something wrong when Doc visibly winced.

When they stopped at Evie’s guest room door, he glanced around them, making sure they were alone before he asked her, “May I… come in, too, for a moment?”

Now sure that she’d mis-stepped, Evie nodded nonetheless, and in they went. Doc shut the door behind the two of them with a sigh, moving to sit in a chair before he admitted gravely, “It’s considered a rather… delicate matter, but it seems fair for you to know the whole story, since the bedroom is your now.” Watching Doc closely, Evie moved to sit on the edge of the bed across from him as he admitted while looking anywhere but at her. “The truth is, I was married, many years ago – around twenty-five years ago, now.” Evie’s mind blanked, she was so surprised, but Doc was still quietly telling his story, so she didn’t need to say anything anyway; she just listened. “About halfway through our nine-year marriage, we started having problems. We struggled to have a child, which we both desperately wanted, and as the political climate began to change, and the forming of the United States of Auradon became a conversation, we found ourselves on opposing sides of that conversation as well. She became a more important political figure; I became less important altogether as I was labelled a sidekick. We kept trying to make our marriage work, though, and she became pregnant. The baby that we had so wanted, the baby we hoped would help us… find common ground again became the last straw as we realized that we wanted to raise our baby in vastly different ways in Auradon. We divorced before our daughter was even born. She was a friend of the king’s, and got full custody of the baby, who, to this day, I’ve never even properly met.” He met Evie’s gaze, and her heart hurt to see the tears in his eyes as he said, “But I always hoped that her mother would have a change of heart – not about our marriage; I stopped loving her a long time ago, but about our daughter. I hoped she would allow me to meet the girl, and, in my hope, I kept the spare room decorated for her.”


	14. Chapter 14

“Doc, that’s so terrible!” Evie burst out, standing to hug him. “I’m so sorry!”

“It was a long time ago,” Doc said.

“But to have never even met your own daughter!” Evie said empathetically. “I can’t imagine!”

“I still see her occasionally,” Doc admitted. “We don’t really talk, and she doesn’t know who I am, but I know that she’s happier now then she’s ever been, and I’m glad about that.”

“Who is she?” Evie asked hesitantly.

Doc shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, sweet girl. She’s fine, and I’m fine, and… and really, if I can’t have her in that room, I’m very, very glad that you can be there instead.”

“Are you sure?” Evie asked. “Because maybe, if you – or even I – could just talk to your ex, ask to just _meet_ your daughter—”

Doc was already shaking his head again, his expression still abjectly sad even as he advised, “I haven’t spoken to my ex in nearly sixteen years, and I have a feeling that it wouldn’t go well if I tried to now. And I certainly don’t want you trying to… speak to her on my behalf.” Doc’s tone took on a finality that he hadn’t used with her before as he asked, “Do you understand?”

Evie nodded, resigning herself to the fact that he was serious about this even though she couldn’t help whispering, “But you’d be such a good dad.”

Doc gave her a careful smile, standing from the chair to take his leave as he said kindly, “I am content to try parenting the people my life has put in front of me instead.”

Evie smiled softly, as she knew he wanted her to before he left her with her thoughts for the evening, and followed him to the door, admitting, “I’m glad.”

* * *

The next morning, Doug and Doc drove back to Charmington after Evie promised she’d have one of her friends drive her back within the next few days. As much as Evie wanted to just rest, there was still so much to do, she just couldn’t allow herself to relax yet.

As she walked through the palace to the ILD office, hoping to find some way to talk to Mrs. Radcliffe again about what had been said the day she’d called Mr. Baker, her mind was awhirl with thoughts, as it seemed like it always was these days. She was so distracted that she almost ran into Jane as they converged on each other in the hall.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” they gasped together as the heavy tomes in Jane’s arms thudded loudly onto the floor.

Evie picked one up as Jane grabbed the other. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Jane happily waved away her concern, reclaiming the history book. “Fine.”

“Good.” Evie gestured to the books, asking, “Genealogy books?”

“For Mrs. Radcliffe,” Jane explained. “Not all of the… common man’s family histories have been digitized yet, and she wants them to check on families for VKs as the DNA test results keep coming in.”

Evie nodded, saying, “I can take them to her, if you want; I was already going to go talk to her.”

“They’re heavy,” Jane warned. “Why don’t you take one and I’ll take one?”

“Sure.”

Evie took one of the books and they kept going towards the office together. A beat of silence passed before Jane asked carefully, “Are you sure you’re okay? You look like you have something pretty serious on your mind. I’ve been told I’m a good listener if you want to talk.”

 _Where should she even start?! And could she even say some of it without betraying Doc’s trust?_ “I guess I was just thinking about… the children who don’t know who their parents are.”

“Yeah,” Jane murmured solemnly. “Carlos told me about Jay.” She looked down at the book in her arms, remarking, “It’s really, truly sad.”

“We’re not giving up on finding any of the unidentified parents, though,” Evie reminded her, turning to look at Jane. “Including Jay’s mom.” Her eyebrows drew together as she registered the strange look that flashed through Jane’s eyes. Suddenly thinking about three steps beyond what she said, Evie added, “Besides, it’s not like Jay… well, Jay doesn’t _appear_ to have missed anything by not having his mom around. But,” she softened her voice, shifting the book she held so that she could put a hand on Jane’s shoulder. “…Can I ask if you were talking about Jay… or about you? What about your dad? Some of this probably feels close to home for you, doesn’t it?”

Jane shrugged, glancing around uncomfortably. “I mean… yeah. Mom doesn’t like to talk about my dad, so we don’t talk about him. I never even met him. It’s just her and I, and she’s really, like, the best mom ever, so most of the time I don’t even mind. Just… things like this make me wonder about him, I guess.”

“Do you know what happened to him?” Evie asked gently. “Or even who he is?”

Jane pursed her lips, sizing Evie up critically before she said, “Mom talks like he died, but whenever he comes up in conversation, she never acts like a grieving widow.” She glanced around again as they got to Mrs. Radcliffe’s office, only for no one to answer when Jane knocked. She pulled a key out of her pinafore pocket, unlocking the door and letting Evie in before she shut the door behind them. “Promise you won’t tell anybody what I tell you?” Jane requested suddenly.

Evie nodded, searching Jane’s face expectantly. _Jane had Doc’s eyes_ , she realized on a sudden wave of nausea. _Different color, same shape, same sparkle, they were set the same way in similar round faces._

“According to Ben, who’s talked to his parents about my mom, my parents got a divorce,” Jane whispered as they set the books down on the desk in the solitude between them. “Which is really stigmatized in Auradon, but it makes more sense to me then a suddenly disappearing or deceased husband who she just _happens_ to try to pretend never existed.”

“Are you sure you’re not… dramatizing the situation?” Evie asked hesitantly. _Because she could see Jane doing that even if, on some level, she struggled to see King Adam and Queen Belle giving their son any sort of “incriminating” information about Fairy Godmother._

Jane shook her head, answering genuinely, “I really don’t think so, and I really, really don’t think Ben would. I… also don’t think I would care so much if I could just at least find out who my dad _is_. I thought about sending a DNA sample in with the VK samples somehow, but… I’m afraid of how upset Mom would be if she found out. Does that sound crazy?”

Evie reached out to grasp Jane’s hands, promising, “That doesn’t sound crazy at all.”

_If only there was some way she could help – some way she could find out whether she was dramatizing things in her own mind, perhaps…_


	15. Chapter 15

“Can I ask what Ben told you?” Evie inquired as she and Jane sat down at the desk.

“All King Adam and Queen Belle said was that the marriage had been struggling anyway, then when the United States of Auradon were organized, things got even worse. They divorced before I was born. My dad, whoever he is, moved away, and left my mom and I alone.” Her shoulders sagged. “I guess I should take that to mean that he doesn’t want to see me, but…”

“The not knowing is still like a piece of you is missing,” Evie supplied empathetically.

Jane nodded. “My mom says it doesn’t matter – that he’s… well, when she’s upset, she says ‘he was practically a nobody anyway,’ so it shouldn’t matter to me. I’m the daughter of _the_ Fairy Godmother, and that should be enough. But it isn’t always, as much as I try to make it enough, and she doesn’t understand that.”

“That’s okay,” Evie said, putting aside her own suspicions to lean in and hug the younger girl. “Because I do understand, and I’m a pretty good listener, too, for whenever you need to talk about your dad, or anything else.”

Jane looked at her gratefully as they stood and made their way out of the office. “Thank you.”

* * *

Later that day, Evie gave up on finding Mrs. Radcliffe in the ILD office – _Mrs. Radcliffe had been working very hard, and the woman might very well have just wanted a day at home._ Instead, she texted Carlos just one of the questions she’d wanted to ask Mrs. Radcliffe when she’d originally gone looking for her.

_Do you know if DNA samples were gotten from the TDF kids too?_

_Idk,_ Carlos replied after a few seconds. _I can ask?_

In possibly any other case, Evie would’ve agreed without a second thought, but this danced dangerously close to a discovery and conversation that she didn’t want to deal with. So, she replied, _No. It’s not important enough._

Carlos called her, and when Evie, sitting alone in her guest room, hesitantly answered him, he said immediately, “If you’re asking me about Three Drowned Fairies, you have something on your mind. What is it?”

“Carlos, I have a lot on my mind. As in, more than normal today, so please don’t take that tone, because I don’t want to add a fight with you to my list of things to worry about.”

“Because you’re already worried about Grayson, or because you’re trying to find some way to bring him to Auradon or… or what?”

“Don’t just--!” Evie yelped.

“I am alone in my room,” Carlos promised her evenly. “With just Dude and Lily, behind a closed door. No one can hear me. I do respect your wishes, you know – at least when I can. So, if I use nicer tone, will you please tell me why you’re thinking about TDF?”

“I just want to know if… they gathered enough DNA samples to realize what TDF is,” Evie hedged.

“It’s fairly obvious that it’s a children’s home, Evie. Anyone who goes in there can tell that.”

“Yeah, but…” She looked down at her lap, ashamed of the tears that gathered in her eyes, of the selfish words coming out of her mouth as she said, “I’m not sure I’m ready for anyone to realize… everything. And I think Mrs. Radcliffe already suspects something.”

“Not that I’ve heard her mention,” Carlos said gently. “Evie… first of all, even if ‘everything’ comes to light, no one is going to think less of you.”

“But his father—”

“Is a bastard,” Carlos spoke over her sharply, and even alone in the room, Evie curled in on herself, feeling momentarily like her chest was going to cave in as Carlos continued a little more evenly, “And you cannot tell me that in a perfect world, the Florian family isn’t going to be the most understanding family there is about ‘his father.’”

“Mrs. Radcliffe’s ideals are rubbing off on you,” Evie remarked breathily. “Everyone knows I was a… a flirt on the Isle; why would they believe me if I tried to tell them about the one time it all went to hell? In case you haven’t noticed, Auradon _isn’t_ a perfect world, as much as I originally thought otherwise.”

“I believe you, don’t I? And I always have,” Carlos pointed out. “And what about Mal and Jay? Doug?”

Evie shook her head, murmuring over the phone line, “You’re still the only one who knows.”

There was a long pause before Carlos said, “You know, if you told any of them, they wouldn’t think of you differently.”

“Yes, they would,” Evie said with a dry snort. “I _know_ Doug would. Mal might not.” She winced, thinking back to her late-night conversation with Jay. “And I’m pretty sure Jay’s figured out…”

When Evie trailed off, Carlos supplied, “That Junior’s a bastard?”

“Yeah.”

“And Jay doesn’t treat you any differently, does he?”

“Three people do not make up all of Auradon,” Evie said hopelessly. “I… _cannot_ explain how badly I want Grayson here, or how badly the idea of him coming here _terrifies_ me… but I feel like I have a responsibility to _all_ of the VKs, and if I put the needs of one boy above all the rest? If the ILD loses credibility, and less VKs come over, or anything of the sort happens because I chose one child over the rest? No matter what child that is, I don’t think I could live with myself. That’s why I still like the idea of doing widespread DNA tests even if it… it backfires on me, because at least more VKs will get off the Isle that way.”

Carlos sighed over the phone. “You should really tell Ben that, and Mal, too. Before you yell at me, I’m only saying that because you sound exactly like a royal – the people before your family, right? If you tell the truth, or if the truth comes out because of these DNA tests, Evie, we _will_ find a way to work with that. To do whatever is best for everyone involved as _painlessly_ as possible. Please don’t worry about this.”

Evie felt sick to her stomach as she admitted, “I worry about him every day.”

“I know you do, and I wish I could tell you that wasn’t valid… but for now, unless you’re willing to talk to Mrs. R, or to let me talk to her for you, I don’t see how we’re supposed to do anything but wait… wait for the other shoe to drop, I guess.”

“You’re right,” Evie muttered, hating that it was the truth. It certainly didn’t help her nerves any, but nothing changed the fact that it was the truth. Swallowing, she shoved thoughts of Three Drowned Fairies and it’s residents aside and asked, “Can I ask you a totally different question?”

“Sure?”

“What do you know about Jane’s father?”

“Jane LaFae? My Jane? Uh… nothing, actually. Why?”

“No reason. Look, Carlos, I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

He was clearly surprised at the couple sudden changes in topic, but he agreed, “Alright. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“And Carlos? Please, about Grayson, don’t say anything.”

Though Carlos was unhappy with the situation because it made her miserable if nothing else, he assured her, “You know I won’t.”


	16. Chapter 16

“How did you convince my mom to let me be spontaneous like this?” Jane asked, sitting in the backseat of one of the royal family’s cars as Mal drove her and Evie to Charmington that evening.

Mal shrugged, answering cheerfully, “When a lady of the court asks to take her friend on a daytrip, Fairy Godmother agrees, that’s all.”

“Yeah, but, Mom _hates_ Charmington, for a bunch of political reasons that I only half listen to. How did you convince her to let me come here?”

Mal glanced at Evie for an answer before Evie admitted, “We didn’t… precisely.”

“What do you mean?” Jane asked suspiciously.

“I didn’t tell Fairy Godmother we were going to Charmington,” Evie admitted. “In fact, when she asked, I specifically told her we weren’t going to Charmington.”

Mal and Jane both gaped at her as Jane reiterated, “You lied. To my mother. Why?”

“Because I wanted you to come with us,” Evie answered innocently.

“ _Why_?”

Evie looked at her in the rearview mirror, asking seriously, “You remember what we talked about in the ILD office this morning?”

Jane’s eyes widened as she glanced furtively towards Mal. “Of course.”

“It’s about that. But, beyond that, I don’t want to say anything else until I know more for sure, okay?”

Jane was fidgeting nervously now, but she repeated, “Okay.”

“Do I want to know?” Mal asked them.

“No,” Jane and Evie answered together.

“Alright, then,” Mal said with an ease that Jane bought, and Evie didn’t.

Then she seamlessly changed the subject, and for the next hour the ride really felt like a fun girls’ trip. For a while, despite her worries, the reprieve was exactly what Evie needed.

Then Mal pulled into a gas station to refill the gas tank, and, as she did so, she leaned into the car and asked, “Hey, E, can you come help me for a second?”

“Is everything okay?” Jane asked, looking worriedly between her friends as Evie got out of the car.

“Yeah, we’re all good,” Mal assured her casually, rolling up the car window and turning her back to Jane before she waved Evie to her side. “What’s going on?” she asked quietly enough that there was no way Jane would hear her.

Evie shook her head. “M, please don’t. I can’t tell you. I’m hemmed in by promises on both sides at this point. I am running on fumes and a feeling, and right now I just need you to please, please be my friend and trust me.”

Mal searched her face, taking in the lines of tension that Evie knew were crisscrossing her expression before she asked, “And this is important enough to you that you lied to Fairy Godmother?”

“Yes.”

Mal pulled the nozzle from the gas tank, closing it as she pointed out carefully, “You know, before school ended for the year, Doug mentioned that you’d had an anxiety attack because you were afraid of getting in trouble with Fairy Godmother.”

Evie shook her head. “There was a lot going on that day; Fairy Godmother was… a very small part of it.”

“Still. Something’s changed.”

“In this one instance, yes.”

“If you’re not going to tell me what we’re doing, can you at least tell me _why_ we’re doing it?”

“Because, Mal,” Evie found herself blurting sharply without even thinking it through. “Somebody deserves to be able to be with their kid!”

Both girls froze, watching one another for a second, and then Mal’s entire expression softened as she reached for Evie’s hand. “Oh, E… is this about your dad? I—I’m so sorry, I thought you were okay…”

 _That_ was _a small part of this,_ Evie could admit that to herself, but it was pretty far down the list, actually. She almost told Mal that – almost told her everything about Grayson, even though she wouldn’t betray Doc’s or Jane’s confidences – right there on a gas station asphalt pad. She bit her tongue in the end, telling Mal what was mostly the truth when she said, “This isn’t about me at all right now; it’s about Jane, but I can’t tell you anything else. I don’t even know anything else for sure, so can we please just get back on the road and get to the Kleins’ building?”

Mal glanced between Jane and Evie, still clearly confused, but she nodded, and they got back in the car.

Evie hated how quiet the rest of the ride was… but the discomfort it caused her was nothing compared to the pain in her chest caused by the expressions that some of the Kleins turned her way when Jane got out of the car at their apartment building.

 _She was right_. Evie could tell that almost immediately – just by the looks on Astrid’s, Derek’s, Happy’s, and Grumpy’s faces as they came into the common room. She was suddenly equally as sure that they were going to send _her_ packing, too, when Mal and Jane left at the end of the night.

“Back already?” Doug asked, getting up from the couch where he’d been playing a video game with his brother. He kissed her, keeping his own tone light even though Evie knew he was confused by the reactions of the older people in the room. “If I had known you were coming back so soon, Doc and I could’ve waited for you.”

Evie shook her head, gave him a thin smile. “It’s okay; I just had a couple of people I wanted to try and talk to before I left.”

“Were you able to talk to them?”

“No,” she admitted distractedly. “Not really. Hey, um, everybody, this is, obviously, Mal, and our friend, Jane LaFae. Mal, Jane, this is Happy, Grumpy, and Astrid, and Derek, who you might know from school.”

“Welcome, Lady Mal,” Astrid said, her smile flickering sadly at the edges as she turned to Jane to include her as she spoke to the visitors. “And Jane. It’s a pleasure and an honor to have you in our home, ladies.”

“Thank you,” Mal said with a polite nod, suddenly wearing the smile that she sported whenever she was in front of cameras, when she felt like she was being judged from all sides.

_Little did she know that it wasn’t her Evie suspected they had a problem with._

A thought that was promptly confirmed as Grumpy asked Jane flatly, “Your ma know you’re here?”


	17. Chapter 17

Instantly internally panicking, Jane looked to Evie for an answer.

Evie skirted the question, saying, “Fairy Godmother okayed a road trip, yes.” Before Grumpy could point out that wasn’t an answer to his question, Evie posed a question of her own: “Where’s Doc?”

“Doc went to get a few groceries,” Doug replied. “He’ll be back—”

“He’s back now,” Doc said with a breathless huff as he opened the common room door with his arms loaded with grocery bags.

Jane, Mal, and Evie all turned to look at him, just in time to watch as the grocery bags fell into a messy heap at his feet as his arms went slack and his eyes went wide with shock. Doug, Derek, Happy, and Jane all jumped to help him pick up the food, but Doc barely even registered the men as he looked at Jane, asking, “What—how are you here?”

“I brought her here,” Mal said, simple and bold – and leaving Evie out of it in a way that not even Doc would accept.

Jane stood up with her hands full of oranges as she watched Doc warily. Doc turned slowly to Evie, his eyes flashing with uncertainty, then anger, then hurt as he understood that she’d somehow put the pieces together. _Why shouldn’t she have when she thought her friend looked so much like him?!_

“Why?” Doc asked softly, clearly directing the question towards Evie.

Evie glanced away, then back to him, making herself look him in the eye as she repeated what she’d told Mal earlier. “Somebody deserves to be able to be with their child.”

Doc was in clear agony as he said, “I don’t disagree.” He paused, swallowing a couple of times to find his voice again before he continued, “But I – we – can’t start this fight with Fairy Godmother. Jane, does she know you’re here?”

He couldn’t even look at Jane as she shook her head, admitting nervously, “No.”

Doc nodded, opening a grocery bag for her to drop the oranges into as he said with a voice that painfully close to cracking, “Then I need you to leave.”

Mal put a hand on Jane’s back, clearly about to steer her towards the door as Jane began, “But—”

Doc stared down at his shoes, not meeting anyone’s gaze as he repeated, “Now, please. None of us can afford to get into trouble with your mother.”

“Jane, we have to go,” Mal muttered apologetically, wrapping an arm around the younger girl’s shoulders and walking with her out of the common room and out of the building.

Even after they’d left, the air still felt like it’d been sucked out of the room, and Evie didn’t dare look away from Doc as she waited, waited for him to exile her from the house, waited for him to look at her, to _say_ something, anything.

When he finally looked at her, his gaze was carefully calm as he declared, “I’m going to need you to stay somewhere else for the night.”

Evie nodded miserably, even though she wasn’t sorry for bringing Jane here, for giving her friend a chance to understand who Doc was to her. “If you don’t want me here, I get it.”

“I’m not kicking you out,” Doc said in the same measured tone. “I just need time to myself to… to think about some things.”

“You can stay with us tonight, Evie,” Astrid said. “But it is getting late, everybody, and we probably do need to be turning in for the night.”

There was a murmur of agreement from the other adults, so Derek, Happy, Grumpy, and Astrid all filed out while Doug turned off the game, then left too as Evie offered quietly, “Doc, can I help you put up the groceries?”

Doc shook his head, and Evie had to fight to keep herself from shrinking in the face of his sadness that she had caused. “I appreciate what you tried to do, but you _cannot_ do anything like that again, alright?”

Evie didn’t realize until that moment how mentally prepared she had become to fight Auradon, to work with Ben and anyone else who would listen to her to right the wrongs that the US of A had caused, up to and including the separation of the man in front of her from his daughter. _But surely it wasn’t right to fight for their reunification over Doc’s own wishes, was it?_

They both clearly felt defeated in the moment, but Evie couldn’t think of anything else to say besides “okay.” So, she did so, and, even displeased, Doc gave her a goodnight hug before she slipped away to Grumpy and Astrid’s apartment for the night.

* * *

Half an hour later, ready for bed, but nowhere near relaxed enough to sleep, Evie sat down on Grumpy and Astrid’s couch – her bed for the night – and put her head in her hands. _Why had she been so impulsive in bringing Jane here? She knew better than that! In its own way, life on the Isle had taught her how to think for the long-term, and so far, she’d done that pretty well. Had she really gotten so wrapped up in her newfound care for the Kleins – and Doc, in particular – and her own desire to see_ some _child, any child helped, but particularly those like Jane that she adored on a personal level… Had she really let all of that cloud her judgement to the point that she’d acted in a way that had caused more harm than good?_

She gasped raggedly when a hand fell onto her shoulder, her head jerking up as she looked into Gordon’s face.

“Mom and Dad told me you’re staying here tonight. Do you want to use my bunk and I can sleep on the couch?” he offered.

Evie shook her head. “Thanks, but I doubt Crabby would appreciate it if I messed up the way he’s used to having things.”

“Crabby’s name fits him well,” Gordon said with a dismissive eyeroll. “He’ll live. Or,” he looked at her, considering something he didn’t really voice as he offered, “If you’re worried about sleeping in the same room as some unknown dude, I can kick him out of the bedroom, too, and you can have it all to yourself.”

“No, really, I’m okay,” Evie assured him. “Sleeping on a couch doesn’t bother me in the slightest, believe it or not.” _And it was the least of her worries right now._

The last thought must’ve flashed through her eyes, because Gordon was looking at her thoughtfully again as he suddenly began to nudge her leg with his foot, bidding, “Scoot over, princess,” before he sat down beside her. “What’s up?” he asked expectantly.

“Me? Nothing.”

“Liar,” he shot back. “We both know something happened – maybe even with Uncle Doc, since you’re in this apartment for the night – _and_ you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, but sure, cuz, I won’t make you talk if you don’t want to. But if you _do_ want to, I’ll be right here.” And he meant it, because he pulled his phone out of the pocket of his basketball shorts and started playing a game.


	18. Chapter 18

“Gordon, I said _no_ ,” Evie hated that her resistance came out as more of a whine than a rebuttal. She jerked her blanket out from under him, wrapping it around herself as she added sharply, “And I’m not your cousin.”

Derek stuck his head in the apartment. “Can we ask who is? Our cousin, I mean?”

Gordon blinked uncomprehendingly at Derek as Doug followed his brother into the apartment and asked, “What are you talking about, Derek?”

Derek, the oldest person in the room – _someone who might remember when Fairy Godmother was his aunt_ , Evie suddenly realized – looked decidedly uncomfortable as he asked Evie, “Is that what happened tonight? Jane is our cousin, isn’t she? And you tried to reunite her with her dad?”

“Wait, back up,” Doug demanded. “Jane isn’t our cousin. That would have to mean that Fairy Godmother and _Uncle Doc_ …”

“It was a long time ago,” Derek supplied awkwardly. “And it wasn’t pretty, and we don’t really talk about it, but… yeah, be glad you weren’t around to see things fall apart – the marriage, and Uncle Doc. He used to be a lot more… outgoing than he is now, more people-oriented, and _not_ married to his work. Divorcing Fairy Godmother… looking back, it seems like that was a relief to him. Losing their baby almost killed him, though.” Seeing Evie’s look, Derek added, “Metaphorically, of course.” Sitting on the couch beside Gordon, he muttered, “I always wondered if Jane was his – I guess I kinda just assumed she was – but I never got up the courage to ask. Or talk about it at all.”

“You’re talking about it now,” Evie pointed out.

“Nobody tell our parents I said anything,” Derek demanded.

The other three nodded, and Doug and Gordon were clearly still processing the shocking information, but Doug was still watching Evie closely as he asked, “Did you try to help Uncle Doc and Jane because of…” he hesitated, glancing between Derek and Gordon before he finished, “Not getting a chance to know your dad?”

“Everybody keeps saying that,” Evie replied tiredly. “But that’s only a little bit of the truth.”

“Then, if you knew Uncle Doc didn’t want to talk about it, and Fairy Godmother… isn’t fond of us,” Gordon asked. “Why _did_ you bring Jane here?”

Gordon was the one who’d asked the question, but Evie found she couldn’t look away from Doug as she watched him watch her gather her nerve. Only it wasn’t so much that she gathered any sort of bravery, as she just blurted it all out into the quiet living room. “Because I wanted to do something to fix just _one_ family around here, because unless you’re a perfectly nuclear family with a loving mom and dad who love one another, too, Auradon doesn’t want you to exist, and that’s _stupid_ , and it’s hurting people all over Auradon.”

“We… don’t disagree with that,” Derek said carefully.

Doug reached for her hand as he sat down on an ottoman in front of her, saying what all three boys were thinking when he prompted, “But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there? Way more going on in your lovely head?”

“I have a son.” No warning, no softening the blow, no good _sense_ – _What the hell was she doing? How many ways was she going to try to ruin her own life today?_ – just the truth thrown out into her life in Auradon. For good measure, she repeated it, watching the way Derek and Doug froze, the way Gordon’s mouth fell open as all three pairs of eyes went wide. “I have a son. Back on the Isle. His name is Grayson, and he’s almost two now, and I just… I hate that for all I’ve talked about bringing VKs over from the Isle, I’ve never once even _mentioned_ him, and now we are _definitely_ bringing over more VKs… and I still haven’t mentioned him. Maybe it doesn’t matter because of King Adam’s stupid Lagume ban, but maybe I should be fighting that much harder for him instead, but I’m not, and if I did, would it even be good enough? And I’m scared that we’ll never know, because what if Mrs. Radcliffe figures out who he is before I can say anything _useful_ , and then I definitely failed him, and I’m definitely not good enough to have him here with me. I wasn’t good enough to him on the Isle, and I’m _certainly_ abandoning him now, and I just—I’m so scared I’m not going to be good enough. Gods!” she pulled her hand free of Doug’s and put her head back into her hand as she groaned, “Derek, it’s happening again!”

Derek dropped to his knees beside Doug and in front of Evie as he pulled her hands away from her face, answering with a calm that she couldn’t even imagine at the moment, “I know. I’ll be honest, I understood very little of what you said, but I can tell it’s happening again. What do you need, Evie? How can I help?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Grayson is different; I don’t know what to do!”

Doug reached out, tapping against her knee, and she automatically knew what he wanted her to do, she did, but she jerked away from his touch. Doug startled back, looking more uncertain than Evie thought she’d ever seen him. She didn’t want to see him hurt, but in the moment some perverse, self-loathing part of herself felt like she deserved the pain, the feeling of having a heart attack and of feeling like she just might be dying.

She almost leapt from the couch and ran, but Gordon pulled her into a tight hug before she could. “Tell me about him,” he requested kindly. “You said his name is Grayson?”

Evie nodded, but then her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth before she managed to explain between ragged, painful breaths of air, “I don’t know how to talk about him. I never have. Only—twice. Once with my mom. Once with Carlos. Carlos DeVil. No one else knows.”

“Does…What’s his favorite color?” Gordon asked at random.

Evie didn’t understand why the question mattered, but she thought back to the little raven-haired boy living in the abandoned mine, to the clothes he’d worn and toys he’d called his favorite. “Blue. Navy.” She began to cry, _which didn’t make sense because she felt like she couldn’t breathe_. “Like me, he said.”

“That’s good,” Doug murmured, daring to reach for her again, and this time, almost without meaning to, she held his hand like it was a lifeline. “That’s sweet. What’s his favorite food?”

Again, Evie had to pause to think before she answered, “Um. I—I used to barter with the goblins for—yogurt that hadn’t curdled yet. When I knew I was going to see him. I would freeze it in pieces to give to him. He liked those.”

“I’m sure he still does,” Derek said kindly.

Evie shook her head helplessly. “No one’s there to give them to him. Ever.”

“ _Evie_ ,” Gordon said, all three boys reading between the lines of that statement as he hugged her even tighter. “You can’t just keep things like this inside!”

“You have no idea,” she declared.


	19. Chapter 19

“I’m sorry, but it’s no wonder you have panic attacks, you know?” Derek said as gently as he could.

Still, Doug turned to him and declared with an edge in his tone, “Not helpful right now.”

Doug had begun to tap on her hand where he held it – practically his automatic response when he was afraid she was going too far into her own head – and she took a deep breath, whispering, “One.”

Doug looked at her in surprise, but kept going until they reached thirty, until her chest had sort of stopped hurting, and she could breathe again.

“Are you okay now?” Gordon asked softly, having eased his hug back to a mere arm around her shoulders where they sat.

“I will be,” she promised tiredly. “But, seriously, you guys have to swear to me you won’t repeat _anything_ I said. Not even to Mal or Jay. I shouldn’t have bothered you with it, anyway,” she muttered, suddenly remembering that there was a high probability she wouldn’t be staying with the Kleins much longer.

“We won’t,” Gordon said, and Derek nodded his agreement.

Evie looked at her boyfriend in growing terror as she asked in a small voice, “Doug?”

“I won’t say anything,” Doug agreed patiently. _How could he still look at her with such compassion after she’d just told him she’d abandoned her son on the Isle?!_ “But I will make a suggestion that will scare you.” He took her free hand, too, made unrelenting eye contact with her as he requested, “Talk to Ben about this. Tomorrow. I will personally make sure his schedule is clear for a meeting. He will help you if you’re serious about bringing Grayson over to Auradon, whatever that looks like for you, or for the boy.”

“Please don’t do that,” she asked, and she could’ve screamed with how indecisive the whole situation made her. “I’m not ready to talk about it yet, not out in the open. I know that makes me a terrible mom – it really, really does – but I just… I need a plan in place first, a way to know that he’ll be taken _good_ care of here, and not… looked down on.”

“Nobody here is going to look down on a two-year-old,” Gordon objected lightly.

That wasn’t true, but she wasn’t about to tell any of them why he was wrong. “Please just give me time,” she repeated.

Reluctantly, Doug nodded. “Okay. Whatever you need.”

“Right now?” Evie asked, feeling exhaustion begin to overwhelm her. “I need sleep. This day has been insane, and I just want it to be over. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

Derek stood up, agreeing, “Okay,” and he at least showed himself out.

“If I leave you alone in here, you’re not going to go to sleep, are you?” Doug asked.

“Not for a while,” Evie admitted. “But eventually. But…” she peered suspiciously at him. “Why did you come up here in the first place?”

“To tell you ‘goodnight,’ to see if you were okay. I won’t ask if you are, because obviously you’re not, but I’ll stop talking, if you want.” Evie nodded, and Gordon shifted off the couch so that she could lay down. Doug moved to pull the blanket up over her, tucking her in like she was a child. “I don’t want to leave you like this,” he said worriedly.

“Which I love about you, but I’ll get over it fine by myself, and I’ll be better in the morning.”

“We could just sleep in the recliners, you know,” Gordon pointed out, gesturing to the pair of recliners that were on the other side of the coffee table.

“Do you mind?” Doug asked Evie.

She shook her head, saying, “Go ahead,” as she rolled over, closed her eyes, and practically begged sleep to come.

* * *

Evie was awake far too early the next morning, with a head that ached from all the tears she’d shed last night, and a back that was sore from sleeping on the couch. _Funny how quickly she’d gotten used to the luxurious beds of Auradon._

Looking across the room as she woke up, she saw Gordon still asleep in the recliner, but no Doug. Unsure what to do, or where she was even allowed to go in the apartment building for the time being, given that Doc had temporarily kicked her out of the space they shared, she folded the blankets Astrid had loaned her, left them on the couch, and made her way down to the common room.

Where she immediately found Doug, sitting alone at the desk in her office amidst boxes that she had yet to unpack.

“Good morning,” she said, leaning over his shoulder to see him ironing out Ben’s schedule for the week.

“Good morning,” he repeated, twisting in his chair to kiss her. “You’re up early. I think we’re the only ones awake so far.” She smiled as she knelt beside a box and began to unpack it – _might as well_ – and his grin turned a little lopsided as he added, “You’re rocking the no-makeup look, by the way.”

She snorted. “And the ‘no hairbrush’ look, too, I’m sure.”

“I mean it,” he said, putting down his pencil as he tried to catch her eye. “No matter what – no matter what you look like, no matter what you tell me – you will always be beautiful to me.”

Evie gave him another faltering smile, seeing where this was going even though she didn’t want to. “Thank you.”

Doug abandoned his work, coming to sit cross-legged on the floor beside her as he probed gently, “I think we need to talk about it.” She didn’t have to ask what he meant. “I know you said you don’t want to talk about it with Ben, and that’s fine, but I think _we_ need to talk about it.”

She nodded, swallowing past the lump in her throat as she took an unruly swath of tulle from the box. “I understand if it’s too much; if you want to break up, I don’t blame you.”

Doug gave her a confused look. “I’m not leaving you because of a kid you had on the Isle who isn’t even here. Yet. Who isn’t even here yet. I just… I guess I’m curious, and I want to understand. I want to know how this works, and what you’re thinking about it all.”

“How it works?” she repeated, keeping her expression carefully guarded.

“Where does he live? Is he safe? Is he healthy? How—how close are the two of you? Who’s…” Doug swallowed. “The dad? Do you know?”

Evie shot him a sharp look. “ _Yes_ , I know.”

“Okay, I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean it like that. That was a dumb way to ask.”

“ _The dad_ is the whole problem; _the dad_ is the reason Grayson’s not even allowed here, and I… I’m so full of fight and fire for all the VKs, that by the time I get past the argument for the ones who we could easily bring here, I’m so tired, and I’m so drained that I just… can’t bring myself to talk about him.”

“’ _Him’_ Grayson, or ‘him’ the dad?”

Evie stood up, shoving the tulle into a cubby in the cloth rack. “Both, I think.”

“Why can’t you talk about them?”

“Because I just _can’t_ , Doug, and I _don’t_ want to talk about it now. I’m _not ready._ ”

“Ready for what?” he continued pressing carefully.

“The best-case scenario is that I tell the truth, and I’m believed, and people pity me for the rest of my life, and I’m not ready for that. The worst-case scenario is that I tell the truth, and no one believes me, and then I’m ostracized for the rest of my life, which I’m _definitely_ not ready for.

“There’s been a lot happening, Doug, and I need time to adapt, and to wrap my mind around some things, now… now that I’m in a place where I feel safe enough to do that.”

Something clicked, difficult and heartbreaking, in Doug’s eyes, and he agreed softly, “Okay, but whenever you’re ready to talk about anything, I’ll be right beside you, ready to listen.”

“Thank you,” Evie said again, and then they lapsed into silence as he went back to his work at the desk, and she continued unpacking her fabrics.


	20. Chapter 20

A while later, Polly stuck her head in the door. “I thought I heard someone in here. Doug, your dad’s looking for you, and your mom and I are getting ready to clean up the breakfast stuff.”

“Thanks,” Doug said, slipping past his aunt.

“It looks good in here!” Polly praised Evie, looking around at the organizing that she’d gotten done so far.

“Thank you,” Evie demurred with her usual bright smile, thinking too late that it might have been dumb to unpack if Doc was going to stay upset with her and ask her to leave.

She came out of her office with Polly as Doc, too, came into the common room, apologizing to Polly and Mabel, “Sorry I’m late. I was on the phone,” he scratched his head, saying in bewilderment, “With Millie.”

There was a clatter of plates as Mabel set a stack of dirty dishes sharply down onto the counter as she turned to look at Doc, asking with raised eyebrows, “Millie? As in Mildred LaFae?”

Doc nodded.

Clearly confused, Polly asked, “LaFae… Fairy Godmother? Why is Fairy Godmother calling here?”

Evie froze with her hand halfway to the last piece of bacon as she realized who they were talking about the same time Polly did.

Mabel held up a hand to Polly to indicate that she didn’t want to talk about it, and Doc only muttered, “It’s a long story.”

“You’ve told all of us – all of the adults,” Polly corrected, glancing at Evie. “The story, but—”

“What did she want?” Mabel asked Doc, irritation and wariness mixing in her tone.

Doc smiled thinly at Evie – the first they’d acknowledged each other that morning – as he answered, “Apparently, after her visit yesterday, Jane went back to her mother and threatened to sue her for early emancipation if Mildred didn’t come to a different custody agreement with me.”

“You don’t have any sort of custody arrangement,” Polly pointed out quietly.

“After she figured out who I am to her, Jane has decided she wants me to have one, though,” Doc said, biting back a smile. “The call from Mildred was to ask if it was… sufficient for Jane to start staying here on the weekends, to get to know this side of her family.”

“You said ‘yes,’ right?” Polly asked.

Doc nodded eagerly. “I did. She’s coming over this weekend.”

Evie didn’t realize she’d squealed with glee until the three adults turned to look at her. Doc laughed, moving to give her a tight hug. “I know I shouldn’t encourage deception, so please understand that you are in so much trouble if you try deceiving someone again like you did last night,” he stepped back, looking her in the eyes as he said earnestly, “But thank you for bringing Jane and I together.”

“You’re very welcome,” Evie answered.

Doc grinned lopsidedly at her, asking, “Have I told you recently that I’m really glad you’re a part of our family now?”

She could’ve hugged him again as she replied, “I’m always glad to hear it.”

* * *

With summer vacation freeing most of them up, except for where Mal and Ben were still busy with their royal duties, and Evie and Doug were running a business, they all threw their focus at the ILD. In the week that followed Evie’s discovery of her father’s identity, Carlos and Mrs. Radcliffe arranged a series of television, radio, and newspaper interviews for Mrs. Radcliffe. Ben finalized a form through which people could petition to have their loved ones returned from the Isle, and Carlos readied it for addition to the ILD website, while everyone else spent their free time working on the incoming DNA test results.

The plan for the time being was to remain focused on the original mission of the ILD – to bring the innocent VKs over to Auradon – and to let the petition for reunification work for itself. Harsh as it sounded to Evie, they were still too busy getting the ILD off the ground at all to even give a proper thought to reviewing the villains’ cases unless they were asked to do so.

“We need more help to get through all of this,” Doug said what Evie was thinking as they sat together in Doug and Derek’s bedroom – her own room was in the middle of a minor overhaul so that she could share it with Jane – while they went over DNA results and tried to come up with Auradonian homes to bring VKs to.

The daunting – and often fruitless – task of calling Auradonians to see if they would be willing to take in a VK would come once their lists were a little more complete.

“Mrs. Radcliffe is planning on saying so in her interviews, asking people very directly to help – and to work on their mindsets if nothing else,” Evie pointed out hopefully. “And since the first interview is tonight, maybe someone will step up soon.”

“I hope so.”

“Me too,” Evie said so quietly that she practically only mouthed the words.

She was tired of going to bed at night, no matter how great her day had been, and thinking of the kids on the Isle, kids like Dizzy – and even, in their own way, Dizzy’s older sisters – who had looked up to Evie since she’d began attending Dragon Hall. Kids she often felt she’d effectively abandoned to the ruthlessness of the Isle. And that was before her mind inevitably slipped towards Grayson and her continued uncertainty about how to handle his existence in her regards to her changing life in Auradon.

But she kept doing what she knew she could do. She worked with Doug on identifying the VKs’ parents, she worked with Carlos on web design, she worked with Mrs. Radcliffe on a script for her interviews. She worked with Ben as his advisor in an official capacity, and with Mal as an advisor in a far more casual and all-encompassing sense. She made a list of the third group of VKs that she wanted to bring to Auradon Prep before the second group had even come, and she worked tirelessly to find homes for any of the other VKs that wouldn’t have to attend Auradon Prep. She talked to Jay, making sure – as Carlos and Mal did too – that he didn’t think too hard about his unidentified mom, and she talked to her classmates, the people who had been lucky enough to live in Auradon for their whole lives, trying to get them to open up to the idea of having more VKs around them.

It was work, and most of it wasn’t easy work, at that, but she couldn’t bear to think of the alternative, couldn’t bear to think that, if nothing was done, none of the other VKs would be as lucky as her, none of the kids still on the Isle would find families to love and care for her like the Kleins did. So, she did as much for them as she could while keeping herself sane.

“Evie, Doug!” Mabel called from down the hall, tearing her out of her swirling thoughts. “Mrs. Radcliffe is on the TV, if you want to see!”

“Come on,” Doug said, shutting his laptop and offering his hand to help her stand as he leapt from where they were sitting on his bed. “We’re not going to want to miss this.”


End file.
